ZADR Orange
by PAT THE KITSUNE
Summary: Sick of his home life, Dib turns for help to the one person who has ever fully understood him and undergoes a life-changing procedure meant to help him let go. Little does he know what such a change will give rise to in the end. ZADR RAPR TAGR
1. Chapter 1

A/N: And so I begin the summer by posting yet another new story here. Now, some of you may have started already reading this on DA, but I figure since DA is being such an ass lately, I'd go ahead and post it here too. For those of you who haven't read it yet, this is a new RP between Notgonnadie and I which I will update weekly. It started off of a picture I drew a while back and turned into something much larger than I ever thought we'd that this role play began in script form however, the formatting for this story may not be perfect. But we'll certainly try our best to make it work in the long run. And because we did not originally have a beginning, this beginning is just something I threw together for the first chapter. So I hope it doesn't suck too horribly. As for the length of this story, it will come out to be quite long, having already accumulated 40 chapters in the time I've spent transferring script to narrative form. So we hope you enjoy the first chapter of our new story, ZADR Orange. Feedback on the chapter will also be much appreciated.

Warnings: EXTREME OOCness!

Rating: M for later chapters.

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

"Jerks..." muttered the teenage boy from his hiding spot inside the boys' bathroom stall. He had been stuffed into a locker...AGAIN! and had to be let out by a teacher after at least two hours of slamming on it and waiting for somebody to hear him. And to make matters worse, he had been yelled at right after for missing class. A fairly typical day for him though annoying nonetheless. Things like this had started happening to him on a daily basis ever since he had first entered high school, not to mention the rumor going around that he was gay. And so he found himself once again hiding out in the bathroom, his preferred eating spot during lunch time. Nobody would bother him while he was in there. Well...at least, nobody human.

Snapping his head up from his food when he heard the bathroom door opening, he quickly pulled his feet up onto the toilet seat until whoever had entered left. That's when he heard an all too familiar voice.

"Argh! Those HORRIBLE, filthy little worm babies!" came the angry voice of his arch nemises, causing Dib to sigh out in some relief and roll his eyes before dropping his feet back down to the ground so he could stand up and exit the bathroom to throw out his tray of food. Of all the people in that school out to get him, Zim was the least of his worries. In fact, Zim hardly ever bothered him nowadays save for the usual arguments they shared during school hours every day. Otherwise, he hadn't plotted anything new to take over the world in ages nor had he come up with new ways to torture him. It was almost as though he had changed, not that Dib minded as he made his way out of the stall to head for the door.

"What's the matter NOW, Zim?" he asked in an almost casual voice, as though he were really concerned though anybody could tell he was just trying to get on the other's nerves, perhaps in hope of starting an argument with him, different from the ones they could set their watches to. Of course, anyone could tell what the matter was just by looking at him. It seemed that one of the other students had "accidentally" dropped their tray of food on him as he stood before a mirror, trying to brush it off of his clothes.

Jolting when he heard Dib's voice behind him, Zim turned to glare daggers at the boy. "You want to know what the matter is, WORM BABY?" he emphasized his last two words so as to show he was in no mood to be played around with. "I'll tell you what the matter is! You and all the other little maggots I'm forced to mingle with on this disgusting excuse for a planet are what the matter is! I hate it here! And I hate all you horrible hyuman stink beasts and your horrible stinking food stuffs and all your horrible hyuman habits!" he said, baring his teeth at the other almost defensively.

Carrying his tray over to the garbage can in the bathroom, Dib merely shrugged nonchalantly. "So, what else is new..." he mumbled, just to be grabbed from behind by Zim before he could head out the door.

"Do not just brush off what Zim says as though it were nothing! Everything I say is not just brush...offable!" he said, obviously angry that Dib could care less about his complaining. "Besides, what pitiful reason could you have for being in here anyways? And don't go into detail on any of the disgusting things I already know you humans do in these places!" he said, gesturing to the bathroom surroundings.

Pulling his arm from Zim's hand, Dib could only take a few steps back. "What's it matter to you what I was doing in here?" he met Zim's glare with a glare of his own.

"Oh, nothing. I just like to see you squirm uncomfortably." he smirked, teasing the other now.

"Oh yeah? Well, same here." Dib smirked back at him, advancing on the disguised Irken.

"Eh? Hey! Wait! What are you-?" he found himself being cornered against the sinks as Dib leaned in to wrap his arms around the shorter alien so he could hoist him up and carry him out into the hallways as though to expose him to the world. Zim, of course, struggled as Dib happily carried the other down the still empty hallway. Lunch wouldn't be over for another 15 minutes. "Urgh! Release Zim!" the agitated Irken demanded. "Release me or face the wrath of ZIM!" he kicked out his legs desperately. But Dib refused to let go anytime soon.

"Nope! Not gonna happen. I caught you." he said, walking away happily with Zim.

"AHHH! NO! LET ME GOO!" he just continued to struggle.

"I'd rather not." Dib said, holding him even tighter.

Zim's eyes meanwhile could only grow wide at those words before sending Dib a strange look. "And WHY is that?" he asked, stopping his struggling for a moment.

"Errr...I WIN!" he quickly changed the subject.

Zim's eyes grew wide again. "What? NO! I WANT A DO OVER!...Uhh...What did you win?"

"I just win...cause I caught you." he grinned happily to himself.

"Oh, right...Wait...AHH! LET ME GO!" Zim returned to struggling.

"Now, why would I want to do that if I'm obviously winning?" he asked.

"Ehhh...ZIM WILL GIVE YOU A GIFT!" he tried to persuade Dib.

"And why should I believe you?" Dib asked, looking away to the side.

"What? Don't you want a gift from Zim?" He put on the cutest face he could.

Dib, however, merely clung to Zim even tighter, a small pout coming to his face. "Nooo...Cause I don't believe you'll actually give me something. And besides, I'm happy with what I have right now." he smiled again.

Zim could only smirk at that. "But Zim is offering moooore!"

Slightly curious now, Dib couldn't help but look back at Zim somewhat curiously. "What do you mean by that?"

Zim's smirk grew even more. "Let Zim go and you'll find out."

And thus I end chapter 1 there. A bit short, but most of these chapters will be pretty short anyways. We hope you enjoy nonetheless however and that we pick up some readers along the way. =3 So until next time.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Alright. Before it gets too late, let me post the second chapter of ZADR Orange here. Not much to say save for hope you all enjoy it and feedback will be much appreciated. =3

Warnings: EXTREME OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gir: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

After giving the other's proposal some thought, Dib finally frowned and shook his head. "No! You're lying to me!" he said, but Zim wouldn't give up.

"Oooh, come on! How will you know if I am or not unless you let me go and see?" he said, still trying to convince Dib to let him go.

"I just know! You always lie to me!" Dib protested, obviously not believing a word of what Zim was saying.

"Cooome ooooooooon! Aren't you at least a LITTLE curious?" he asked the other, holding up on his promise to reward the other for letting him go.

When he realized Zim wasn't going to stop tempting him with promises of gifts and such for letting him go, Dib finally gave in and dropped Zim back onto his feet, still frowning. "Fine! You can go! I already know you're not going to give me anything no matter how interesting you try to make it sound to me!" he said before sending Zim a truly hurt look then turning to shuffle away somewhat angrily. But before he could get too far, he felt the other grabbing hold of his arm again to keep him from going anywhere.

"HEY! Zim didn't lie!" he glared at the boy before yanking him back around so he could plant a big kiss right on his lips.

Eyes growing wide at the small gesture, Dib could only blink a few tears out of his eyes before pulling away with blush, taking a few steps back as he brought his hands up to play with his fingers shyly, gaze fixed on the ground beneath him."Wh-Why did you kiss me? Y-You could have just left without giving me anything." his voice was surprisingly calm now.

Zim merely crossed his arms, looking away and pouting. "Hmph. ZIM is not a liar like YOU are." he said, which had Dib looking back up with wide eyes again.

"What? I'm not a liar!" he then glared at Zim. "YOU'RE usually the one who lies to ME! Remember when you lied to me about Ultra Peepee?"

Zim's eyes snapped back open at that before sending Dib a slightly nervous look. "Oh yeaaahhh..." he then shrugged. "Oh well...HAH! I'M FREE!" he screamed out triumphantly before running off, leaving Dib standing all alone in the middle of the hallway.

Face falling once again as Zim ran off, Dib could only sigh to himself before bringing his hands up to hug himself and murmuring in a quiet whisper, "Why DID you kiss me, Zim?"

It wasn't until later that night that both Dib AND Zim found themselves wondering about that kiss they had shared.

At Zim's base, Zim couldn't help but figit on the couch. "Mmmm...Dib didn't follow me..." he said, having been expecting the large headed human to come crashing through the door at any moment now.

Meanwhile, back at Dib's house, Dib was merely laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I wonder what he's...doing right now..." he said out loud to himself before sitting up to look at the door to his room. He wondered whether he should go over there or not to make sure the green menace wasn't plotting some evil plan to take over the world. Giving in after a few more minutes of thinking on it, he finally stood up to head over towards his door. "Maybe I'll just take a quick walk before bed and pass by his house really quickly to make sure he's not up to anything. Yeah. That's what I'll do." he told himself before leaving his room to head on out.

Zim, meanwhile, had begun banging his head against the wall frustratedly. "Where. Ow. Is. Ow. He? Ow! He ALWAYS follows me!" he screamed to the ceiling before taking to pacing back and forth about the room. "Ahhh! Where is he?" he said one last time before hearing the proximity alarm go off. Gasping excitedly, he took to his PAK legs to climb up the wall into the wires on the ceiling. "IT'S HIM!" he said giddly as he went to peek out the top window. Upon seeing no Dib, however, his face fell. "Awww...It's just a STUPID cat." he pouted, turning off the alarm and plopping down onto one of the hanging wires in the ceiling, not noticing when the real Dib was coming up.

On the sidewalk, Dib could only stare at the oddly shaped, green house, tempted to go up and knock on the door but something holding him back. Shaking his head, he sighed. "What am I doing here? Zim's not doing anything "evil". If he were, he probably would have come straight to my house first to show it off and annoy me." he said before looking back at the house one last time. Then, hesitantly, he made his way past the opening in the fenced in area, still compelled to walk up to the door and knock on it just in case. But before he could get too far in, he stopped himself, the lawn gnomes turning to face him, just staring at him and him staring back at them, trying to remain as still as possible so as not to pose any kind of threat and risk being shot at.

Back inside however, the oblivious Zim merely sighed to himself. "He doesn't care anymore, does he...? I shouldn't have kissed him! WHY DID I HAVE TO DO THAT?" he screamed before smashing his head against another wall and losing his balance, falling back to the ground, the wires caving in on him.

Hearing the loud crash from inside, Dib couldn't help but look up suddenly, causing the lawn gnomes to start firing up their eye lasers. "Uh-oh..."

For several moments, firing could be heard from outside, then Dib's screams.

"AH! Stop!" he screamed, running up to the front door and knocking on it several times frantically, hoping that if Zim answered it, he'd be able to escape the assault.

But Zim was crushed underneath all the wires and was quickly losing consciousness from how hard he had hit his head. So rather, he made an incoherent command that the computer somehow translated into "Open the door".

Upon unlocking it, Dib immediately managed to stumble into the room, closing the door quickly behind him to block out the laser shots before falling to his knees, panting, only looking up once he had caught his breath. But he wished he hadn't as for the first time he noticed Zim laying under a pile of rubble, completely unconscious now and gasped. "Zim!" he pushed himself up and ran over to the prone body on the floor, wasting no time at all shoving aside wires and other debris, all the while mumbling one thing to himself over and over again. "Oh please, God, no! Oh please, God, no!" he said before finally managing to push everything aside so he could scoop the Irken into his arms and carry him over to the couch to lay him down on it gently. "Zim?" he reached up a hand to touch the other's cheek but stopped centimeters from it, hesitating and then pulling his hand away, placing it back down by his side, unsure what he should do about Zim.

That's when Gir came skipping into the room, gasping upon noticing Dib there. "Big-Head Boy!" he squealed before bolting over to give him a hug before looking down at Zim. "D'awwww...Mastah's sleeping!" he said happily.

But Dib could only turn on him at that. "No, Gir! He's not!" he yelled before his voice grew softer. "H-He's hurt...A-And I think it's my fault..." he closed his eyes just to realize that a few tears had slipped down his face. Bringing a hand up to feel them, his body began to shiver. "Th-This is so...weird...Why am I-?" he fell silent before he could finish his sentence as more tears began to slip down his face.

Gir, however, couldn't comprehend such a thing and merely smiled back at him. "Awww...I'll go get him a bandaid then!" he said before running off to go search for the band-aids.

Watching the insane little robot leave, Dib then turned his attention to the ceiling. "Well, can't you do something about this, computer?" he said, wanting at least ONE of Zim's "minions" to do something about it.

But the computer was no help either as it merely responded back in a bored voice. "No...not really...He broke the section of the house that I can control from up here when he fell...You'd have to bring him down to the lab if you wanted me to do anything about it..."

Those words had Dib's eyes widening as Gir came flying back into the room with a band-aid that had little pink bunnies on a purple background on it, which he stuck against Zim's forehead before smiling happily. "There! All better!"

Ignoring this, Dib picked Zim up into his arms again. "Gir, where's the elevator?" he asked, turning to look down at the little android.

Gir only smiled even wider. "Oh, that's easy! It's in da kitchen!" he said, getting up to show Dib.

Following after Gir, he stopped in front of the elevator and watched as the doors opened for him. Then, looking down at Zim, he said, "Hold on, Zim. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make this right again." Stepping into the elevator, the doors then closed and began their descent into Zim's lab.

Meanwhile, in his still unconscious state, Zim's mind began subconsciously playing several odd thoughts in his head. 'I should get up...' he thought to himself, but found he couldn't wake himself up no matter how hard he tried. Then, his mind instantly jumped to Dib. 'If only Dib had come...Why didn't he?' he asked himself as he pictured the human sneering down at him, holding up photo evidence of him being an alien. Then, without warning, the picture changed to Dib smiling down at him instead, holding out a hand to help him up. 'When did this change?' he questioned himself.

Back in the conscious world, Dib exited the elevator as soon as it came to a stop and looked about the place, noticing an area that kind of looked like a medical bay. "Just hang in there, Zim. I'm going to have you fixed up in no time." he said, carrying Zim over to an examination type table to lay him down on before looking up once again. "Alright! We're in the lab now! You can help him now, right?"

The computer could only respond back in a slightly annoyed voice. "I guess..." it said before running a scan on Zim's body to locate all his injuries. "He's got some broken bones and a concussion. There's some cooling gel over on that table behind you that you can use as a sort of ice pak for that. And if you need some bandages, there are some right behind it. "

A/N: Yep. There's chapter 2 for you all. Thanks to everybody who faved the story or added it to your story alert list. And thank you for the review springfly. Indeed this will be updated weekly. I hope the wait isn't too horrible for you. But here's the next chapter to hold you over until next week. =3


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Yep. Here be Chapter 3. Heheh...I rhyme...XD Anyways. Your weekly update has arrived, peoples reading this story. I want to thank those of you who have faved or added the story to your story alert list. You guys are great. Now, without further ado, here's the next chapter of ZADR Orange. And remember, feedback is much appreciated. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/ Tallest Red: Notgonnadie

Dib/Computer: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Looking back behind himself at the table with the medical bandages and cooling gel on it that the computer had told him about, Dib quickly made his way over to it and gathered them into his arms before returning to Zim's side to press the cool surface of the container holding the gel to the large bump forming on his head. Then, taking up the bandages and looking over Zim's body, he turned to address the computer again. "And where exactly are all these broken bones?" he asked, waiting for the computer's response.

Sighing out frustratedly, the computer answered back with a, "Do I have to do everything around here?" before bringing down its mechanical arms from the ceiling to point to all the areas that Zim had broken bones so Dib could begin bandaging them, which he did with haste.

He didn't know how long it had been since he had fallen unconscious, but Zim knew it had to have been at least a few hours before he finally began to come around, blinking his eyes slowly open and groaning, his body feeling like it had been run over by a fork lift. "C-oputeer..." he tried to sound out before noticing Dib leaning over him. "De-buh?" he said the other's name as though he hadn't seen the other in days or months even.

"Zim!" Dib exclaimed, obviously relieved that the other was okay as he leaned over him, taking care not to hurt him. "A-Are you feeling alright?" he asked as he brought up a hand to touch Zim's cheek gently but pulled away quickly, unsure of whether the Irken would even want him to touch him at this point.

Zim, meanwhile, could only stare up at him with wide eyes. "What are you...Where are we?" he asked, not having had the time to take a look around.

"W-We're in your underground lab, Zim. You were unconscious and hurt when I found you, so I brought you down here to try and fix you up a bit." he said, sending the other a slightly worried look for not recognizing his own lab.

Zim could only respond with an "Oh...", looking away and blushing before bringing his gaze back to Dib. "Why didn't you come over?" he asked, wanting to know why Dib hadn't followed him home today. But Dib could only tilt his head to one side at those words.

"Hmmm? What are you talking about, Zim? I DID come over. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have found you where I did." he said just to have Zim send him an emotionally hurt look.

"But...You didn't chase me...You always chase me!" he exploded on the other.

Taking a few steps back at the sudden yelling, Dib could only shake his head at the other. "I-I thought you were already mad at me though!" he argued back, causing Zim to send him a slightly confused look, quieting back down now.

"Since when did that matter? We're always mad at each other...but you...didn't follow me home..." his voice grew quieter with each word, forcing Dib to stutter out what he could in order to answer the other.

"I-I wasn't thinking today after you...Mmmm...A-And you hurt yourself b-because of me, didn't you?" he asked, just knowing nothing like this would have happened had he actually followed Zim home like he normally did.

Dropping his gaze down to the ground, Zim let his antennae fall. "I was waiting for you...The proximity warning went off, so I climbed up into the ceiling to see through the window...but it was just a cat." he explained how it had happened.

Dib instantly felt his heart dropping down into his gut as he took a few more steps back, fiddling with his fingers and looking down at the ground below. "Oh...S-So, it really was my fault..."he said, feeling absolutely horrible now.

Nodding slightly, Zim wrapped his arms around himself uncomfortably. "When did it all change?" he asked, wanting to know what had happened between them.

"I-I guess after you kissed me earlier today..."Dib responded, shrugging before finally lifting his eyes up to look at Zim again. "S-So, do you want me to leave now?" he asked, feeling as though his heart had just been ripped to shreds after asking that question.

Eyes growing wide at the other's suggestion to leave, Zim quickly looked up, a sharp pain ripping through his chest. "N-No!" he exclaimed, sitting up quickly so he could try and grab Dib's arm to pull him back. "Don't leave!" he pleaded with the other to stay, causing Dib to become still at feeling the Irken grab hold of him.

Turning back around to look at the alien after a moment of silence, Dib finally took a step back towards him. "A-Alright...B-But is there anything you need?" he asked, wanting to do whatever he could to make things right, knowing it was his fault in the first place.

Lessening his grip on Dib, Zim seemed stunned for a few moments before giving Dib's question some thought. "I think...maybe..." he looked back up at Dib, tightening his grip again and pulling him close* Maybe you could..."he blushed profusely, not knowing how to say this and beginning to lose his nerve."You could..." he began to say what he wanted but stopped himself and merely jerked Dib forward to smash their lips together before he lost his nerve completely.

Eyes flying wide open in shock at being yanked into a kiss, Dib's own face flared up a bright red as well as he slowly let his eyelids slip closed and he began to respond to the kiss, lightly moving his lips against Zim's. "Mmmm..." he sounded out, Zim's own eyes relaxing as he kissed softer now, less rushed. Taking in a small breath of air, Dib then took the Irken's bottom lip between his own two lips and nibbled on it just a bit, causing Zim to let out a soft whine, pulling Dib onto the medical table with him. This had his eyes flying back open again to stare down at Zim, a little scared that he might accidentally hurt the Irken even more if he wasn't careful. "Mmm...Zim..." he murmured into the kiss, trying to get the other to stop for a moment. But Zim seemed reluctant to stop as it took him a moment to pull back and take a breath.

"Yes?" he panted out, wanting to know why Dib had stopped.

Peeking his eyes open just a bit to look down at Zim, Dib could only shake his head and pant. "I...I don't want to accidentally hurt you..." he said between pants, his blush growing even more as he looked away to the side shyly.

Blushing himself at the other's words, Zim reached up a hand to take hold of Dib's shoulder and pull him down so he could give him a small lick to the cheek. "You won't..."he whispered, causing Dib to blush even more before turning his gaze back to Zim.

"I-I want you to tell me if I do though..." he said before leaning back down over the Irken to gently press his lips against Zim's affectionately.

Purring softly into the kiss, Dib could feel Zim's purr permeating throughout their kiss as he nuzzled his face to the Irken's softly, never letting their lips part even once as he gave them a few gentle licks with his tongue. The both of them being completely absorbed in the kiss, they couldn't help but jump when an all too familiar voice caused Zim's eyes to snap wide open and Dib to lose his balance and go toppling off the table onto the floor.

"Ehem! Uhh...Hate to interrupt." came the sarcastic voice of Zim's leader, Tallest Red.

Lifting his gaze up to look at the screen and then Zim, Dib could easily see that the other was panicking.

"O-Oh! M-My Tallest!" he addressed the red-eyed Irken. "Wh-Why are you calling me?" he tried to smile innocently. But it was too late. Tallest Red had seen everything and wasn't about to just let that slide.

"Oh, you know...I was bored. Purple's on vacation." he shrugged. "BUT THAT IS BESIDES THE POINT! What are YOU doing with...THAT?" he jabbed a finger at Dib.

Wincing back at the way Red pointed at him and shrinking down in his spot behind the table as though to hide from Zim's leader's sight, Dib prayed to God he hadn't just gotten the other in trouble. But Zim merely brushed the statement off as though it were nothing.

"What do you mean? It's only Dib..." he said, not thinking much of what they had just been doing.

"YOU'RE MAKING OUT WITH A HUMAN! THAT'S WHAT I MEAN! THAT'S TREASON!" Red screamed back at him as though it were obvious, causing Zim's eyes to grow wide.

"B-But other Irkens have done worse with different alien races..."he tried to reason with his leader.

"Yeah! CONQUERED ONES!" Red threw in to make his point clear.

Sitting back and watching the exchange of words between the two closely, Dib finally couldn't remain quiet any longer and spoke up for Zim's leader to hear him. "W-Well, my planet may as well be considered conquered at this point! Because i-if I'm not fighting Zim any longer, then nobody is really stopping him from saying he's taken it over. I-I was the only one on this planet who even cared that he was trying to take it over in the first place a-and the only one keeping him from accomplishing that."

Shifting his gaze over to where Dib was, Red eyed him suspiciously before glaring back at Zim. "Is this true?" he asked, not completely believing the human.

"Uh...Yes!" Zim lied. "Without Dib, this planet is completely under my control!" he said just to have Dib cut back in.

"Yeah! In fact, I just came over to tell him that and that I wanted to be his human slave. So he decided to celebrate, and that's when you called and caught us...umm...in the middle of what it was we were doing." he said, hoping Red would believe him and not punish Zim for having kissed him.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 3. Chapter 4 will be up next week. =3 Hope you all enjoyed.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey, you guys. Sorry this is late. I was having an off day. But here's your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Hope you all enjoy Chapter 4. Oh, and thank you all of you who faved or added the story to your story alert list. =3 Remember, feedback is much appreciated.

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Tallest Red/Drone: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Red couldn't believe it. It just wasn't possible. Zim conquering a planet! Absurd! But here he stood, gaping back at two beings, who had agreed on it, in surprise. "So, Zim ACTUALLY conquered a planet...?" he asked again, looking at Dib while pointing at said Irken.

"Yes! And I-I'm his proof of that! I-I wouldn't be down in his lab if I weren't his slave!" Dib exclaimed, trying to make the other believe him.

"Y-Yeah!" Zim then cut in, grabbing hold of Dib and pulling him close. "That's my slave for you!" he smiled back nervously, shifting about in his spot.

"Hmm...Well...If you conquered the planet...I guess it's time for you to come back..." he said before turning away and shaking his head. "Can't believe he actually did it..." he then whispered to himself under his breath.

"Uh...Come back?" Zim questioned, not sure whether he liked the sound of that.

"Yes. Seeing as how you've taken over, it's time for you to return to Irk so we can, you know, do something with the planet." Red elaborated on what he meant by that.

Those words had Dib's face paling suddenly. "Wh-What exactly do you have in mind to do with it?" he asked, suddenly worried he had said something very stupid.

"Oh, I haven't decided yet. Usually we'll pick a few options and then let the invader choose, but seeing as it's Zim..." his sentence trailed off as he seemed to give it some thought with an evil smirk on his face.

Looking back at Zim with a panic-striken face, Dib couldn't help but wonder now what was going to happen to Earth.

Zim, however, still couldn't get over the fact that he was going back, completely missing the look of fear in Dib's eyes. "What about Dib?" he asked, obviously not wanting to leave the human.

Turning to head for the teleporter present on their ship, Red waved his hand back at the other. "Bring your slave with you for all I care. But you have to come back. Staying isn't an option." he threw over his shoulder at the other as he walked up to the teleporter in the room before turning back to face the screen.

Fidgeting in his spot nervously, Zim could only send Dib a questioning look.

But Dib seemed torn between staying and leaving with Zim as he found himself unable to keep eye contact with the other, fiddling with his fingers and staring down at the ground.

"Well?" Red said, growing increasingly impatient with each passing second as he stood there, arms crossed and tapping his foot against the ground.

Biting his lip, Zim stared at Dib beggingly.

"I-I guess...But y-you're not going to h-hurt anyone on the planet, a-are you?" he asked, finally looking up unsurely.

Opening his mouth to speak, Zim was quickly cut off by Red before he could even get a word in.

"Does it really matter? Just grab your junk and get in the teleporter." he said with an all too annoyed look on his face before turning his attention back on Zim. "Your invading equipment will be left there to be used as resources for when the soldiers arrive." he addressed the Irken directly.

Dib could only tense up even more at Red's words. "S-Soldiers? B-But I thought you said you didn't know what you were going to do with it yet!" he exclaimed, starting to panic yet again.

"Standard procedure. Gotta restrain any remaining rebellions." Red replied back nonchalantly.

Zim, meanwhile, just remained silent. "..."

"B-But I just told you! I'm the only one who even cared that Zim was trying to take over my planet! There aren't any rebellions!" he desperately tried to convince Zim's leader not to go through with sending down soldiers to the planet.

"Let's hope there aren't." Red then said, glaring at Zim. "Now, get a move on into the teleporter. NOW. I'm keying in the coordinates." he said, turning to a small panel on the teleporter.

"Dib...?" Zim finally spoke for the first time in a while, staring back at Dib worriedly.

The human had by now become completely stiff, all the life and color drained right out of him as he stared down at the ground with wide eyes. "Z-Zim...I think I'm going to be sick..."

"Come on! MOVE IT! Zim, grab your slave and get going!" Red yelled over the transmission, obviously having no more patience for waiting around.

"Dib?" Zim said again, now worriedly looking back and forth between Dib and Red. "Just come with me..."he tried to coax the other into following him, holding out a hand for the boy.

But Dib could only look over at Zim with a lifeless look in his eyes as everything around him began to spin before blurring completely, his vision going dark as he blacked out on the other.

"DIB?" Zim exclaimed, catching him and scooping him up into his arms, cradling his head carefully. "Oh please, wake up..." he begged in a whisper, wishing this were all just a terrible nightmare he would wake up from soon.

Eyes falling half lidded in annoyance, Red's antennae fell back, unimpressed. "Zim..."

"Y-Yes, my Tallest?" Zim stuttered out, shrinking back a bit with Dib.

"Get in the teleporter. NOW." he demanded, not wanting to have to say it again.

Shaking somewhat, Zim could only nod slowly, scared now that Dib was down. "Y-Yes, my Tallest..." he finally gave in and carried Dib into the teleporter with him.

Dib, however, mumbled a few things in his unconscious state that had Zim looking down worriedly at him again. "Zim...Don't let them...Please, don't let them..." he murmured, a tear slipping down his cheek.

Pulling Dib closer, Zim could only squeeze his eyes shut as the both of them were transported to the Massive.

Coming to slightly upon arrival, Dib could only peek his eyes open enough to see that he was now on a large ship. "Z-Zim?" the other's name slipped from his lips before losing consciousness once again.

Holding Dib even closer when he heard his name, Zim waited to get instructions on where to go from here.

"Zim. Your room is this way. Feel free to leave your slave here. We'll pick it up for you later." a drone then addressed him, reading over a clipboard he had received from the Tallest.

"No!" Zim exclaimed, however, holding Dib even closer now.

The drone could only send him an awkward look for the outburst. "Alright...Follow me." he said as he began to lead Zim away to the room set up on board for him.

It wasn't until several hours later that Dib finally began to come around again, this time a soft surface underneath him. Blinking his eyes partway open, he looked about the room he was laying in. "Z-Zim?" he questioned, unsure of where he was.

Leaning over the now awake human, Zim stared down at him from his spot right next to him, his arms still wrapped around Dib protectively. "Dib! A-Are you okay?" he asked, obviously relieved that Dib was at least conscious now.

"I-I had the worst nightmare, Zim...One of your leaders wanted us to leave Earth so he could take it over..." he said, not grasping the reality of the situation.

"...Yeah...Truth IS stranger then fiction, huh...?" he said before looking away and pulling Dib close. "It wasn't a dream, Dib..."he sighed out, feeling horrible now.

Eyes growing wide as the realization of their situation finally dawned on him, Dib pulled his knees to his chest and hid his face in his hands. "I-It's really gone...I-It's really gone...And I'm the one to blame..."he said, feeling as though he would just break down now.

Wrapping himself around Dib, Zim tried to tell him otherwise. "No, no! No, Dib! It's alright! The decision has yet to be made! It's okay! It's okay! Please, don't do this!" he held the boy tight, rocking the two of them back and forth.

"B-But you know there's nothing we can do to stop it at this point!" he exclaimed, having by now already burst into tears as he curled in on himself even more.

"No, Dib! It's okay! Please, stop! Please! The Tallest will be here soon to ask me what the fate of Earth should be! There is still hope!" he held Dib tighter, his own eyes sealed shut.

"B-But I can never go home again, can I?" he said, trying to wipe away some of his tears just to have them replaced with more.

"Please, Dib. I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen. Please, don't cry." he begged, attempting to kiss Dib's tears away. "Please...Stop...It'll all be okay..." he tried to reassure the other.

But Dib merely shook his head. "No, it won't...Nothing will ever be okay again..." he sniffled wetly, hugging himself tightly.

Antennaes wilting, Zim could only look away at those words. "...I'm sorry..." he apologized in a whisper, sliding out of the bed and away from Dib when there came a loud knock on the door.

Eyes growing wide at the sudden loud knock on the door, Dib shrunk back, pulling up the covers of the bed he was in as though to hide from whoever it was.

This reaction caused Zim's antennae to drop down lower than they ever had before as he sighed and went to get the door.

"The Tallest wants to see you and decide the fate of your planet." came the voice of a drone from outside.

Nodding sadly, Zim agreed. "Okay..." he said before turning back to Dib. "I'll be back..." he promised before leaving the room completely.

Lowering the covers slightly to watch as Zim left, Dib then laid himself back down in the bed and hid his face away in the pillow to cry himself back to sleep.

It wasn't until later that Zim finally returned to the room, quietly calling out the other's name. "Dib?" he said, approaching the bed just to see that the human was asleep, tears staining his cheeks. Sighing to himself, he rather than waking the other, crawled underneath the covers with him and curled himself back up around Dib.

A/N: Well, there you have it. Your weekly update for those of you reading. Now, I'd like to take this time to thank those of you who reviewed.

To MonochromeFox: Thank you for the cookie. It's much appreciated. XD I'm glad to hear you're finding amusement in this story, though to be perfectly honest, it gets very sad later on. But I hope you'll continue and enjoy reading future chapters. 83

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD That is indeed a lot of 'ness'es. The fact that this story was able to bring about so many 'ness'es amazes me. XD Anyways, you shall indeed see much more of this story in the future. And hopefully you'll enjoy where the plot leads from here on out. 83

To Chaos of the asylum: Lol. XD Well, I had to come up with SOMETHING for the summery. Though I probably could have come up with something better. Glad you like it though. It took me quite a while to even come up with that. Feel free to suggest changes to it though if you think of something better to go along with our story. XD I probably should have went more with something along the lines of how far one kiss would take them. XD But oh well. I'm not good at summeries.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey, you guys. I'm so sorry about the lateness of this chapter. But I've been having all sorts of computer trouble lately. First, the power cord for my laptop died and then I just plain couldn't get a connection anywhere. But I'm not about to let that stop me from updating. So for those of you who have been waiting so patiently, here's Chapter 5 of ZADR Orange. =3 Thanks to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert list and remember, feedback is much appreciated.=3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Gir/Drones: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Tallest Red: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

It was all over now. There was nothing he could do. After years of trying to protect the Earth, he had been the one to have ultimately handed it over to the Irken Empire. Letting out a small whimper in his sleep, Dib curled in on himself, sniffling wetly still.

Feeling a sharp stab through his chest like he had felt before, Zim apologized again, in a soft voice to the other. "I'm sorry, Dib...I did it all..."he said before curling up even more around Dib.

Sleeping on for several more hours, Dib let out a small moan as he began to come back around again, blinking his eyes open, a bit disoriented at first about where he was. "Hmmm?" he sounded out, looking about the room.

Having migrated to one of the corners of the room, Zim laid curled up on the floor across from him.

Dib blinked his eyes a few more times, looking around the room some more until he remembered where he was and why. Sitting up quickly in the bed, it took him a moment to notice Zim over in the corner. "Z-Zim?" he said the others name before throwing the covers off of himself and stumbling his way over to the Irken, falling flat on his face from not being used to walking on a ship in space yet. Sitting up slowly, he held his head and let out a pained noise. "Ow..." he groaned before crawling the rest of the way over to Zim, the motion of the ship making him feel slightly sick to his stomach. "Z-Zim..."he said one last time, trying to get the Irken's attention.

"...Yes?" he finally responded, remaining facing away from Dib, his sad stare fixed on the wall.

Reaching out a hand to touch the others cheek, Dib stopped himself, pulling back his hand to his chest and looking away to the side. "Wh-What's going to happen to us now?" he asked, truly not wanting to think about it.

"We will be given a ship and sent to a dwelling planet somewhere in the Irken Empire...We gave the Earth its new purpose too..." he responded monotonously.

"A-And that was?" he asked, really not wanting to know but still needing to know what he had doomed his own home planet to.

"Earth will be a zoo..." Zim just came out and said it, little emotion to his voice.

"Wh-What? A zoo?" he exploded, looking up at Zim in disbelief. "A-And are humans the only species that are going to be treated like animals?" his voice then grew shaky.

Waving a hand at Dib, Zim attempted to calm him back down. "Relax, Dib...It's more like a reserve...I made sure they wouldn't let the humans know anything was going on. As long as they don't try to leave the planet's surface, they will be fine...But that was the best I could do...I know it's not good enough for YOU, but I tried." he spat out before sighing heavily and curling up even more. "The Tallest was angry with me...I was demoted for this..."

"D-Demoted? Wh-What do you mean by d-demoted? Demoted to what?" he obviously didn't understand the situation.

"Service drone...This means I have to work in retirement...So are you happy yet? I saved your stupid planet! I got demoted! My life is screwed now!" he snapped before sighing heavily again and curling in on himself.

Pulling away from the Irken, Dib could only stare at Zim with wide, fearful eyes for the sudden outburst. "I...I...I want to go home..." he sobbed, shrinking back away from the other.

Those words had Zim gasping in surprise before staring at Dib sadly and sniffling. He knew Dib really wanted to leave.

Clapping his hands from the doorway, Red slowly walked into the room they were in with the drone from before. "Good! Because seeing as how Zim's been demoted, even YOU outrank him now! You're going to have your memory wiped and be sent back to live the rest of your life on your own planet! Isn't that great?" he addressed Dib, an evil smirk on his face.

Walking up to Zim, the drone from before kicked Zim hard in the side. "Move it, you!" he demanded, having been ordered to take Zim to a new holding cell.

Flinching at the rough kick, Zim merely did as he was told, getting up and following the drone out of the room.

Sighing out happily as he watched the drone take Zim away, Red turned to smirk down at Dib cruelly. "I should really thank you, human. Your lie finally gave me the chance to get rid of him. But...He seemed a bit off at the meeting. He must have hit his head sometime recently..."he snickered knowingly. "Let's hope so. Then maybe he'll finally die already." he said before grabbing Dib's arm to take him away.

But Dib resisted, instantly trying to pull away from Red. "No! Don't touch me!" he screamed, struggling against the taller Irken.

Slapping him across the face, Red glowered down at him. "What are you struggling so much for? This is what you just said you wanted, isn't it? Or would you rather stay here and suffer the same fate as Zim?" he said, yanking Dib out of the room, wrenching his arm behind his back and walking him in the opposite direction from Zim, towards the teleporter.

Letting out a sharp cry at having his arm wrenched behind his back, Dib continued to struggle nonetheless. "No! Let me go! Zim! ZIM!" he called out, looking back behind himself at the Irken, who was getting farther and farther away from him. "No! Zim!" he screamed out desperately one last time before suddenly feeling a hard blow to the back of the head, delivered by another one of the drones on board the Massive, and seeing everything around him going dark.

Holding him up by his arms, the drone that had knocked him out and another drone that had come to offer his assistance began dragging him in the direction of the teleporter.

"Jeez, he's annoying. No wonder Zim took a liking to him. They're too much alike!" Red commented before turning to follow the two drones.

"Shouldn't we wipe his memory first?" one of the drones then asked.

"Nah...Why bother? What could he ever do to us?" he sneered down at the unconscious human.

"Of course, my Tallest. How foolish of me." the drone bowed to him.

"Well, we can just hope that Zim will die now, but you know, the planet will make a great attraction." Red smiled all too wide.

"As a zoo?" the other drone questioned.

"No. As an asteroid field." he laughed evilly.

Smiling also, the drones then shoved Dib into the teleporter and typed in some coordinates before returning Dib back to Earth.

It wouldn't be until several hours later that Dib awoke to find himself in Zim's lab.

Head throbbing, Dib groaned out in some pain. "Wh-What happened?" he asked himself, trying to move from his spot but just wincing and curling in on himself, clutching at his head. "Ah! Wh-Why does my head hurt so much?" he tried to force his eyes open to look around. "Z-Zim's lab? B-But what am I doing here?" he asked, sitting up slowly.

That's when Gir came bursting into the lab in hysterics. "MARY!" he tackled Dib back down to the ground. "MARY! MARY! WHERE'S MASTER? YOU AND MASTER WENT FLASHY FLASHY! NOW MASTER GOOONE!" he screamed, pointing at the teleporter all the while.

Looking down at Gir once he had sat up again, Dib could only send the babbling android a completely blank expression before looking up at the teleporter. "I-I don't know. I-" he cut himself off to grab his head again. "Ouch! I don't remember anything!" he said, pulling one of his hands away just to find blood on it, his eyes growing wide in fear. "S-Something bad happened...B-But...I can't remember what!" he said, pushing himself up onto his feet to search the room for anything that might jog his memory.

"There's a big mountain next to the couch!" he grinned, all problems suddenly forgotten. "Can you climb it with meee?" he asked excitedly.

Looking back over at Gir, Dib merely sent the insane robot a confused look. "Umm...Maybe later, Gir. In the meantime, I have to figure out what happened to your master." he said, returning to his search for anything that might help him remember.

"But the mountain!" Gir exclaimed, trying to tug Dib upstairs. "It's gots squishy squishy powers on master!" he said, trying to make Dib follow him.

Sending Gir another confused look, Dib finally gave in and let the insane robot drag him back upstairs to the living room where the pile of debris and wires still was. Eyes growing wide at seeing it, Dib couldn't help but approach it slowly. "Wh-What happened?" he exclaimed, staring at it a few moments longer before the memory of what had happened earlier hit him and his eyes grew even wider.

"H-He was buried under all of this...and...and I carried him down to his lab to dress his wounds..." he began piecing things back together in his head, quickly making his way back down to the lab, looking around, the memories all coming back to him now. "He kissed me and then...and then one of his leaders called and..." he felt his legs shaking. "Th-They took him! They took him and sent me back here!" he said, his legs finally giving in, causing him to collapse onto the floor to his knees as the memory of the last thing Red had said ran through his mind. "A-And they plan on killing him..."he felt the tears welling up in his eyes again before slipping down his cheeks.

Oblivious to Dib once again, Gir merely cheered happily. "YAY!" he exclaimed before happily running back upstairs to dive into the pile of rubble in the living room.

Meanwhile, back on the Massive, Zim sat within a locked cell with one of the drones guarding the door to prevent him from escaping.

Rolling over in his cubby hole of a cell, Zim merely stared at the wall sadly. "I'll miss you, Dib..." his voice was low and strained.

The drone could only snicker at this remark. "Well, there won't be much to miss here soon."

That had Zim's eyes growing wide. "Wh-What do you mean?" he asked, rolling over to glare at the drone.

A/N: Well, there you have it. Your weekly update for those of you reading. And, yes. I know I am evil for leaving you all off there. XD But hopefully the next chapter won't take me as long to get to you all. Now, I'd like to take this time to thank those of you who reviewed.

To MadameJelly: Lol. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Dib doesn't exactly get very much time on the Massive to explore it, as you'll see in this chapter. But he does return to it in a few chapters on a search and rescue mission. XD Hope that doesn't spoil the story for you though. There are plenty of other crazy plot bunnies you'll have the opportunity to follow after later in the story. =3

To kaoru1174: Oh, yes. Poor Dibbles has absolutely the worst of luck in this story. We torment him and Zim so much. But fear not. Zim and Dib aren't about to just give up the Earth without a fight, as you'll see in later chapters. =3 Thanks a ton for the comment, and we'll certainly try our best to keep the story as interesting as possible for you people. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Yayz! Another review from you! *Dances* Sorry for the wait on some of these chapters. Computers really don't like me very much though. I'm happy to see you're still reading however despite the slowness of my updates. Yes. It really is tragic what one little lie can bring about. The universe just really enjoys screwing Dib over though. XD And if I said this story were a happy one, I'd be lying. It's more like a very sad story with a hopefully happy ending. XD My partner and I are still writing it. But fear not. We're not totally evil and this story is full of cuteness, if you don't mind the OOCness of it. XD Anyways, your 'ness'es were indeed inspiring. For it is comments like that that keep us going. =3

To MotokoIsMe112: Hmmm...I take your random spasming as a good sign that you're at least enjoying the story. XD As for the fate of Earth, however, I cannot tell you that just yet. You'll have to keep on reading to find out. XD And I DO hope you'll continue reading. =3

To DessArtem: Thank you for the comment. Hopefully this wasn't too horrible a wait for you. And we hope you enjoy future installments of this story. =3


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Alright. It's bright and early on a Monday morning, so I'm getting this in now since my last update was so late last week. Thanks to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert list. =3 Hope you all enjoy this quick update. And remember, feedback is much appreciated. 8D Now, enough of my talking. Let's get on to Chapter 6! 8D

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Drone/Computer/Gir: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

His snickers growing into a laugh, the drone's voice seemed to bounce off the walls of the cell Zim was in. "Oh, well Earth is going to be no more than a field of asteroids as soon as the clearance comes in." the drone could only snicker more and more into his hands as he towered over the terror-stricken Zim.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Dib sat within Zim's lab hopelessly. He couldn't think of anything he could do for the other as he found himself completely at a loss.

Sitting within the others lab, Dib hugged his knees to his chest and hid his face away in his arms. "This is all my fault...He's in this situation because of me, and there's nothing I can do to fix it..." he shook his head, pulling his knees even closer. "I-I didn't even get to say goodbye to him..." his voice was low and shaky inside the quiet lab.

"Well, if it's any help, the Massive is closing in on Earth... And all of Zim's gear IS still here...So you could either fly out to save him or turn it in and get famous. I don't care which so long as I get inter-webs out of it." the computer then informed him in its usual monotone voice.

Eyes growing wide, Dib couldn't help but lift his head at that bit of information. "D-Do you really think I can do that? W-Wait a minute...I-I thought they had already decided what they were going to be doing with Earth and were going to leave it alone from now on. So why are they heading here?" he asked nobody in particular as he tried to come up with a suitable reason.

"I dunno. They probably lied about it. They only fly the Massive to a planet when they're going to destroy it, after all." the computer answered as though it were common knowledge.

Knowledge that Zim was just receiving back on the Massive.

"WHAT? B-But the Tallest said...It's supposed to be a ZOO!" Zim exclaimed, up on his feet in a matter of seconds.

"Heh...Not anymore, it's not." the drone smirked, obviously enjoying Zim's reaction to all this.

A reaction that wasn't all too different from Dib's own back on Earth.

"D-Destroy it? Th-They can't do that! We had a deal that if anything, it was going to be a zoo!" Dib exploded, panic obviously setting in now.

"The Tallest make deals all the time. They never keep them. Take Zim, for example. He would have been killed no matter what. They HATE him. That's probably why they are blowing up this planet too..." the computer explained, all too late for Zim or Dib to do anything about it of course.

"Th-Then Zim gave up his position as an invader for nothing...A-And it's all my fault! B-But I can't just let them kill him! I...C-Can you program Zim's ship to take me to the Massive? I have to get on there somehow and save him, then I have to stop them from blowing up my planet!" he looked up to the ceiling, knowing he couldn't do this alone.

"Eh...Sure. Why not? It'll be about an hour though." it agreed to help Dib save Zim's life.

Meahwhile, back on the Massive, Zim was at this point fuming.

"You-!" he didn't even really begin a sentence before attacking the drone in the cell with him and knocking him out cold, the enraged Irken now desperate to find a way out."Locked!" he growled, not having expected it to be that easy of an escape. Of course, the cell's lock wasn't accessible with any key. Rather, it required a code that only the drone in the cell with him would know. So, blasting at the door, searching the interior for any sort of air vents, attacking the walls, and attempting anything else he could think of to escape, Zim spent the next hour or so hatching several plans that ultimately ended in failure before finally sinking back down to the floor and curling up in a fetal position, his conflicting emotions bringing tears to his eyes. "Dib is going to die...and it's all my fault." he broke down right there in the cell, uncertain as to what he was going to do now.

Back on Earth, however, Dib sat within Zim's base, already certain of what he knew he had to do.

Pacing back and forth after about an hour of waiting, Dib finally began to grow impatient with how long it was taking Zim's computer to program a route to the Massive in Zim's ship. "Can't you go any faster? He might already be dead by now!" he complained, pacing even more now.

"I'm almost done! Sheesh! Besides, they won't kill him until he's seen you die." it said as a ding went off. "There. Now, I'm done." the computer informed him, causing Dib to suddenly become very nervous.

Eyes growing wide in a bit of fear at the computer's words, Dib seemed to stall for a moment. "I-I'll need a disguise too once I get on board. Is there anything you can do to make me look more like an Irken so they won't recognize me?" he asked, the weight of the situation just then seeming to settle on him.

"Sure. Why not?" it said before producing a screen with several different designs for holo-Irken disguises.

Observing the options closely, it didn't take Dib long to decide on one with dark, bluish eyes. "How about this one? It should work well enough to keep me hidden until I've found where they're keeping Zim." he said, nodding to himself for reassurance.

"Whatever." the computer could really care less what he looked like as it slammed the pod over Dib and applied the hologram.

Unfortunately for Dib, he couldn't say his experience inside the pod was all too enjoyable as he let out a loud scream of pain.

"AH!" he screamed before stumbling out of it once it was complete. "Th-That was painful..."he rubbed his head before shaking it off and thanking the computer, running back upstairs to collect a few things into a bag and have Gir show him where Zim's ship was stored.

Looking up from what it was he was doing, Gir went to greet Dib but stopped himself mid-sentence. "Hi Mar- AHHHH! INTRUDER!" he jumped up from his spot and went into SIR mode, several weapons coming out of his head and pointing right at Dib.

Freezing in his spot, Dib held up his hands defensively. "Woah! Wait a minute, Gir! I-It's me. Dib. I-I'm wearing a disguise." he dropped his voice down low so as not to alarm the robot.

Eyes dying down from red to turquoise again, Gir quickly returned to his old self, smiling stupidly at the other. "Okie dokie then!" he exclaimed before giving Dib a good look up and down. "You look like Mastah!" he gasped, pointing at the others disguise.

"I-I do?" Dib asked, looking down at himself the best he could, turning this way and that.

"Uh-huh!" he wasted no time in running off to find himself a mirror for Dib to see.

Looking into the mirror once Gir had returned, Dib brought a hand up to feel his face. "Woah...I really do look like him..." he said before turning back to Gir. "Gir, I need you to get me something." he said in a serious voice now.

Smiling happily at him, Gir merely nodded his head in agreement. "OK! What you want? OH! You want a biscuit?" he was quickly getting off track.

"Umm...No...What I need are some water balloons if you have them. Do you think you can find and fill up some balloons with water for me? This is really important, Gir. If you can't, you may never see your master again." he said, trying to persuade the android to listen to him.

"Oh yeahs! I gots lots of those!" he said, opening his head to reveal a huge handful of empty balloons in it.

"I need you to fill them with water, Gir, while I'm looking for something to carry them in that won't look too suspicious." he said, already searching the room for something to carry them in.

"Okie dokie!" he quickly zoomed off to have them filled.

"You know, you could just carry them in that holographic PAK you have on your back. It's a solid projection, so they shouldn't fall out." the computer informed him, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"R-Really?" he asked, reaching back to touch it. "A-Alright. I guess I'll do that then." he said, pulling his hand away from it to look up at the ceiling.

Running back into the room, Gir approached Dib with awaited water balloons. "I GOT EM!" he squealed happily before tripping on his feet, causing a few of the balloons to fly up into the air before crashing back down on Dib, getting him wet. "Oopsy..."Gir smiled back at Dib innocently.

Of course, there was no use crying over broken water balloons, especially not when back on the Massive, Zim was faced with an even bigger challenge of getting out of the cell he was in.

Finally starting to regain consciousness, the drone sat up in his spot with a groan. "Ugh..."he rubbed his head, looking about the cell.

To his surprise, Zim was nowhere to be found, having taken refuge up on the ceiling to the cell.

"WH-WHERE DID ZIM GO?" he freaked out, looking around for any signs of an escape. "Oh no! He couldn't have gotten out!" he got up back onto his feet and ran over to the cell door. Typing in the code and unlocking the cell door, he opened it and looked outside, checking to see if Zim was anywhere around. "Oh, Irk! The Tallest is going to kill me!" he began to panic just as he felt another blow to the back of the head, knocking him unconscious again, allowing Zim the opportunity to escape.

Little did he know that back down on Earth, Dib was preparing to come and break him out.

Standing there for a few moments with an annoyed look on his face, Dib tried to shake the excess water off of himself before sighing. "Alright, Gir. Give me the rest before you drop them too and get me all wet again." he said, taking the water balloons from Gir and placing them into the small compartment that the holographic disguise offered him in the PAK. "I guess these will have to do for now. I just hope I don't run out of them." he said, more to himself.

"Ummm...Not that I care, but you may want to bring another weapon just in case." the computer said before bringing out two metallic arms to offer Dib some kind of Irken stun gun. "It only holds about 50 or so shots before it needs an hour to recharge, so I would be careful about using it if I were you." it warned him before dropping it into Dib's hands.

Taking the gun from the computer, Dib quickly looked up again. "Th-Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." he said before storing his PAK with the rest of the balloons and turning to follow Gir up to the attic where Zim's ship was.

He would be there soon, but in the meantime, Zim was on his own, slipping out of the cell he had been kept in and climbing onto the ceiling to keep out of view as he searched the ship for the escape pods or something else useful.

A/N: Well, there you have it. Your weekly update for those of you reading. Now, that wait wasn't so bad, was it? Anyways, I'd like to take this time to thank those of you who reviewed.

To Illisandria Carthain: Much thanks to you for the timely feedback on our story! 8D It really does make my day when I receive a new review in my inbox. =3 Anyways, I'm glad you're enjoying it so much. And, yes. You'd think that's where we're heading with this story, but actually our plot follows a slightly different route than where it seems to be heading at the moment. In fact, this isn't even really the plot of our story as you'll see later on. But, yes. Tallest Red's an ass in this story. A complete and utter ass. He'll show up again in future chapters. But until then, I hope you enjoy this short update and continue to read and review. 8D

To kaoru1174: Indeed, both Zim and Dib need a hug. They actually need lots of hugs in this story. But this is nowhere near as bad as things get for them. The farther we get into this story, the worst the situation they find themselves in. But fear not! I'm 99.9% sure this story will eventually have a happy ending despite how much we torment them in it. XD We're not completely heartless. =3 And there are plenty of cute parts to make up for all the sad parts in it. =3

To Shiva-sama: Lol. XD Well, we're glad you're enjoying it so much! 8D A lot of people have admitted this is a very addicting story. But then again, most of my RPs with people are. So I'm not too surprised. XD But, yes. This is indeed very much from an RP. I don't even think I COULD write this much if it weren't...err...Actually, I probably could but it would take me a really long time since I'm usually pretty lazy. ^^; But really, I work better on stories when I have a partner working with me. =3 So here' Is your next update. Hope you enjoy. And thanks again for the wonderful review! 8D It's what keeps us going. It really is.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Ugh...Such a hectic weekend what with me being dragged back and forth across town half blind, the sun literally cooking me, and sudden heart problems arising in my mom. But I refuse to let any of that interfere with updating this story. Well, except maybe the last one. But anyways, for those of you who have waited so patiently, here be Chapter 7 finally. I seem to be losing reviewers though. D8 I hope this story isn't growing boring for any of you. Though it may just be my account. It was acting just a little bit screwy earlier this week. So I guess I won't worry about it too much. Anyways, thanks to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert list. Remember that feedback is much appreciated, and we hope you all enjoy this next chapter. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Tallest Red: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gir/Drone/ Tallest Purple: Me

Computer: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Dib was quickly growing annoyed as the second he had climbed into the ship, Gir had started screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I wanna come with you! Can I come with you? Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Pleeeeeeaaaaaaseeeee!" Gir begged, now running about the room in circles.

"No, Gir. I need to do this alone. Besides...I have another favor to ask you. I don't know how long we have, so if I'm not back in about an hour or so, I want you to go to my house and tell Gaz to take Tak's ship and get as far away from Earth as possible. Please, can you do this for me? A-And tell her that if I don't contact her within 24 hours that chances are I'm dead..." Dib's voice fell with his last statement as he was having a hard time admitting to himself that he may very well die on this mission. "Please, Gir. I just need you to do this for me!" he looked down upon the insane robot with a serious look upon his face.

"Okaaay..." Gir finally gave in before smiling and waving goodbye to Dib as he climbed into Zim's ship and told the computer he was ready to go now.

"I'm not gonna bother with a countdown." the computer then informed him before shutting the door and blasting off into space towards the Massive.

Still not used to space travel as the ship shot up higher and higher off the ground, up through the Earth's atmosphere and into space, Dib clung to seat tightly, the entire ship shaking all around him.

"Impact in five, four, three, two...Have a nice day." the computer's voice sounded over a speaker in the ship as it came to a spontaneous stop right outside the docking bay of the largest ship Dib had ever seen in his life.

Remaining seated in the ship for a few minutes longer, it took Dib's shaking body a while to finally gain back some control over itself. "A-Alright. I-I guess I'll be boarding now. I-If you can still hear me, computer, do you think you can do me a favor and remind Gir about that little favor I asked him to do in the event that he forgets?" he asked, just wanting confirmation that in the end at least his sister would be safe.

"I guuuueeeesss..." the computer seemed to sigh out in an all too annoyed voice now.

"Th-Thanks...I-I hope we get a chance to talk again really soon..."Dib said, ignoring the computer's tone of voice as he finally picked himself up from his seat and headed on board, his top priority to find Zim as soon as possible.

Thankfully for Dib, no one on board seemed to notice him exiting his ship to board the Massive, all of them too worried about a certain somebody.

Keeping close to the walls so as to stay out of the way of other Irken's running about, Dib lifted his head to the ceiling when he heard Red's voice over the Massive's intercom. "HOW COULD HE HAVE ESCAPED?" he raged just to have the drone responsible for watching over Zim answer back timidly.

"W-Well, I opened the door because I thought he had gotten out...and then he got out.." the drone's voice fell to a whisper as he shrunk down in his spot, antennae lowering submissively.

Trying to stand back just a bit more as he watched the frantic Irkens surround the area he was in, Dib took a few more steps back before finally deciding on a direction to head, just having to remind himself over and over again that he was wearing a disguise and none of the Irken's on board should notice him sneaking away. But just as he was turning on his heel to head in what seemed to be the least crowded direction, he got cut short upon bumping into another Irken and falling flat on the floor. Sitting up slowly, Dib rubbed his head with a pained noise escaping him. "Ow..." he groaned before looking up to see a very tall, purple-eyed Irken staring down at him.

"Hmph! Is that any way to treat your Tallest upon his amazing return from vacation?" Purple said, grabbing Dib by the collar of his shirt before looking around and realizing that none of the other crew members were greeting him as they should be doing but were rather running about in a panic. "Errr...Okay. So maybe nobody has noticed my return. But they should! I'm going to go have a talk with Red about this. And as for you! Go get me some nachos! Just because the rest of our useless crew hasn't noticed me yet doesn't mean you can get away with it!" he said before dropping Dib back onto the ground, awaiting a reply. "Weeeell." he said expectantly, arms crossed as he tapped his foot against the ground impatiently.

Shrinking back a bit in his spot, Dib quickly scrambled to his feet to do as he was told. "Y-Yes sir!" he said, his voice shaking as he went to head in the direction he had originally planned on going just to be stopped by Purple before he could even go anywhere.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going? The kitchen's in the opposite direction!" Purple glared down at who he thought was just one of his stupid crew members.

"Oh y-yeah...My mistake. Be back soon with those nachos." he wasted no time at all in making a mad dash in the opposite direction of where he had originally wanted to go, now just wanting to get away from Purple as quickly as possible as he bumped into several other Irken's along the way, all of whom sent him awkward glances and insults for not being more careful.

To his relief, the area around the kitchen turned out to actually be much less crowded than he had originally thought it would be compared with the rest of the ship as Dib made his way into it just to find that he was the only "Irken" within the proximity, or so he thought.

Having been hiding in the area where the least amount of beings were, which just HAPPENED to be the kitchen at the time, Zim watched from his hiding spot as everybody had fled the snacks to find him, leaving them unguarded and ripe for the taking.

He had spent hours locked up in that cell and was now VERY hungry, leaving him with little strength left in him to confront Red. But just as he was about to sweep in low to grab the food, one stray Irken with dark blue eyes wandered into the room cluelessly, as though in search of something. But it didn't really matter as Zim prepared to strike. 'You picked the wrong day to be on your own.' he thought before angling himself to pounce on the other. 'Three...two...' he waited until he was just in range. "HAH!" he yelled out as he dropped down from the ceiling and tackled the Irken to the floor.

Dib, of course, instantly let out a startled gasp as he felt something, or more precisely, someone dropping down and tackling him to the ground. "Ouch!" he yelped, eyes snapping wide open at the realization that he was under attack when he heard a low growl from behind him, the attacker pinning him down to the ground from behind.

Instantly beginning to panic, thinking that perhaps his disguise had been detected, Dib struggled from underneath whoever it was that was holding him down and began yelling at them to stop. "Stop! Stop! Get off of me! Please! I haven't done anything wrong! Stop!" he desperately tried to throw the person behind him off of his back before finally managing to turn himself over onto his back underneath Zim, his eyes widening at the sight of the Irken. "Zim?" his voice came out all too happy in that moment before returning to panic when he realized the other didn't recognize him in the disguise and was holding a spider leg up, ready to plunge it into him.

Bringing up his arms to cover his head just as Zim went to strike him with his spider leg, Dib flinched back and let out a pained yelp when he felt his left arm being torn into by the sharp point rather than his head, which had been its original target. Bringing his free hand to the wound in his arm, Dib desperately tried to get through to the Irken one last time, crying out for the other to stop. "Stop! Stop, Zim! I'm not an Irken! It's me! Dib! " he spat out quickly before Zim could strike again, squeezing his eyes tightly shut in the case the other didn't believe him and decided to kill him for real this time.

Preparing to strike again when he heard the others words, Zim paused right as the spider leg was about to pierce Dib's throat. "How do you know Dib's name?" he asked, staring down at the blue-eyed Irken suspiciously.

Peeking an eyes open at the question, Dib opened both his eyes after a moment to stare up at the other with wide, fearful eyes, his entire body shaking now. "I-It's me, Zim...I-I am Dib. I came back to save you...Y-Your computer programmed a route to your leaders' ship and gave me a disguise to wear..." he stuttered out shakily, body tensing up when he could see doubt building in the others face. "Please, Zim. Believe me. I-I have no intentions of hurting you." he tried one last time to prove to the other that he was who he said he was.

Staring down at him with a look of uncertainty on his face, Zim took hold of him by the front of his collar to pull his face closer. "You...YOU must prove it! Do something that only the real Dib would do!" he demanded, wanting to make sure before he let the other up.

But Dib couldn't think of anything as he flinched back at the demand. "I can't! I don't know what I could possibly do to prove to you that I am who I say I am!" he yelled back at the other, sending Zim a pleading look not to kill him for that response.

Glaring down at the disguised human, his PAK leg getting closer to the others neck yet again, Zim pulled it away suddenly to kiss Dib right on the lips. "Stupid, indecisive human..." he murmured as Dib kissed him back needily.

Latching onto Zim as the Irken pulled away, Dib instantly broke down into tears, hugging the other close. "You jerk! You scared the living hell out of me!" he screamed at the other, hiding his face away in the alien's chest.

Smiling softly at those words, Zim pulled Dib into an even tighter hug before nuzzling his face into the boy's neck. "I know...But I had to make sure..." he whispered, running a hand up and down his back in an attempt to soothe him now.

Sniffling wetly, Dib pulled back slightly as his tears began to dry, leaving stains down his cheeks. "They lied, Zim. They never had any intention of leaving Earth alone! They plan on destroying it!" he said as another new wave of panic hit him, causing him to break into another flood of tears.

Wrapping his arms tighter around Dib, Zim could only continue to stroke his back gently in an attempt to calm him back down. "I know, Dib...I heard them...I'm so sorry...I didn't want this to happen to you..." he said as he tried to wipe Dib's tears away just to find it to be a more difficult task than he thought. "You must stop crying, Dib...Most Irkens don't cry. They will suspect something of you..." he said, knowing he had to find a way to calm him down quickly.

So pulling away slightly to wipe at his eyes with one hand, Dib winced when a sharp pain ripped through his arm, causing him to instantly bring a hand up to grip at the wound, red blood dripping onto the ground. "Ouch...D-Do you think there's anything in here I can use to wrap my arm?" he asked, looking around in search of a rag or towel or anything really.

But Zim could only shake his head in response as he looked worriedly at the wound before grabbing his own sleeve and ripping it off. "Here. Use this." he said, offering it to Dib.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update for those of you reading. And look! Return of the ZADRness! Hope you guys enjoyed that little kiss. Now, I'd like to take this time to thank those of you who reviewed.

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. Oh, yes. The one bit of good the computer actually does in this story. He's pretty much an ass throughout the rest of it though. XD But anyways, that's a really good question. Red is an ass throughout the story, but as you'll see in a chapter or two and even later on in the story, Purple actually plays a very important part in all this. And, no. He is not an ass like Red is. I won't give away the surprise of how he's important to this story, but let's just say of all the characters played out in this story, we might in some ways torture him more so than we do even Zim and Dib. Not because we mean to be mean, but he is the one character who probably won't come out of this story with a happy ending. I'm not really sure yet. We haven't written the ending yet. But no matter how I look at it, there's nothing we can really do at this point to give him a happier ending. Though, we have plans for two eventual sequels in which he may have a happier ending in the third story. Yes, you heard right. We have plans to make this a trilogy. But until then, Purple is just as much a victim of this story as Zim and Dib are. So thanks for reviewing. You were the only one who did this last chapter. At least, yours was the only one I received. So I really appreciate it a lot that we get timely feedback about this story from you. =3 Hope this chapter satisfies your needs for now. Until next time. 8D


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Terribly sorry for the wait again, you guys. Meant to get this chapter up earlier today but couldn't because my internet was down. ALL FREAKING DAY LONG! But it finally be up and running again, so here be Chapter 8 of ZADR Orange. Hope you all enjoy! 8D And much thanks to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert list! Remember that feedback is much appreciated. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Tallest Red/Tallest Purple: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Staring at the bit of sleeve being offered to him for several long moments, Dib seemed to hesitate before finally taking it from the other to wrap tightly around his wounded arm. "This should be good enough for now. I-I just hope it doesn't begin to bleed through at any point." he said before finally looking back up at Zim. "Th-Thank you..." he thanked the other, a small blush gracing his face.

Smiling back at the boy, Zim moved in to kiss him on the forehead, pulling back after a moment or two. "Don't mention it..." he smiled wide at the other before lifting his gaze up to the ceiling to have a look around. "We have to find a way to get you out of here...Then I have to find the Tallest." he said, searching for some safe way to smuggle Dib out of there.

Eyes widening at those words, Dib burst out in disbelief at what the other had just said. "What? I came all the way up here to get you! You can't face them alone!" he exclaimed, determined not to leave without Zim with him.

"I can't take you with me! What if something happened?" Zim turned on the other, an all too serious look on his face now.

"I'd rather something happen to me than have to go on living knowing something happened to you! I wouldn't live either way, Zim! I can't lose you again..." his voice fell down to a whisper now as he dropped his gaze down to the ground also.

"But you never lost me..." Zim moved in to hug him close again.

Clinging to the Irken's front again, Dib could only press his forehead to the others chest for comfort. "But I nearly DID lose you, and I never want to take that chance again..." he breathed out shakily, just needing that closeness he had nearly lost.

Expression growing softer now, Zim held him close, running his hands up the others back. "Dib...I'll be okay." he tried to reassure the other, stroking the area where his hair would be gently.

But Dib could only shake his head at those words, clinging tighter, closer to the other. "I'm not letting you go alone. Th-They're already expecting me to bring them nachos. If I'm caught trying to leave then nothing good will come about in the end." he said, sticking with his resolve to stay with Zim.

"N-Nachos? Who asked for nachos? Red's too busy trying to find me to eat." he said, tilting his head to the side confusedly.

Pulling back to look at Zim, Dib brought up a hand to try and describe the Irken that had stopped him. "I-It was a really tall, purple-eyed one. I bumped into him shortly after boarding. He wasn't happy that no one was greeting him, so he sent me here to the kitchen to get him some nachos. Th-That's when I ran into you." he told the other, hoping his description would be enough to give Zim an idea of who he was talking about.

"Purple?" Zim jumped up. "Then there's hope! Come on!" "he grabbed Dib by the arm. "If Purple's here, he might be able to stop Red!" he said excitedly, heading for the door then stopping himself. "But I need a disguise...They're all looking for me...I'd be dead before I could get to him..." he looked back at Dib. "Uhh...I mean...If I'm taking you with me...WAIT!" he sent Dib an evil grin. "You can turn me in!" he pointed at Dib, his grin growing even wider.

Taking a few steps back, Dib instantly looked about the place before bringing his gaze back to land on Zim. "Wh-What? Turn you in? I don't want to turn you in! Wh-What would happen to you? A-And what if they find out it's me? I-I wouldn't even know what to say when I got there!" he tried to convince Zim to come up with some other plan he could use to get to his leaders.

But Zim merely continued to smile, closing in on his human to place quick kiss on his lips. "I'll tell you what to do. Just walk behind me and act like you know what you're doing. Then, when we get to the Tallest, leave it all to me." he whispered into the others ear, pulling his hands behind his back and having his PAK make a loose bond around them. "Oh, and you might want to get those nachos too." he said, turning to look back at Dib with a smirk.

"B-But what if they ask me something? What should I say then? I don't want to say something that's going to get us in trouble! I nearly got caught earlier because I didn't even know where the kitchen was on board this ship!" Dib exclaimed, obviously not happy with this plan.

Zim, however, just leaned into Dib. "Calm down, Dib! The first thing that is going to get you caught is your panicking!" he brushed his lips against Dib's. "Now, just put on an evil grin or some sort of angry face...And then just growl at anyone who confronts you. If you do it just right, no one should though. You are rather tall, after all..." he smiled, eyelids falling half lidded as he eyed Dib up and down.

Still quite nervous about doing this, Dib pressed his forehead to Zim's before nodding his head slowly in agreement, trying to calm himself down enough to get in character. Then, getting to work on figuring out how to make the nachos for the Tallest, he finally returned to stand right behind Zim, doing his best not to look too nervous as he took one of Zim's hands in his own to squeeze gently before taking in a deep breath and gulping. "Alright...I'm ready..."he said, willing his voice not to shake.

Nodding his head back at the other in response, Zim then started to lead Dib towards the bridge where he knew the Tallests were, many Irkens standing back and staring, sending Zim glares as Dib 'led' him. Thankfully, no one intervened as it seemed Dib had it taken care of, none of them really wanting to get close to Zim anyways.

But Dib couldn't help but shake slightly, unnerved by all the staring eyes, really hoping none of them could see it as he did his best to keep his head held high and posture straight, all the while pretending to have Zim bound when in reality he was merely clinging to Zim's hand with one hand and holding the nachos in his other, allowing the other to lead him.

Noticing this himself, Zim leaned back to whisper in his ear reassuringly. "Stay calm. We're almost there." he said as he led Dib the last little bit of the way then stopped right outside the door to the bridge."Now knock on the door and tell them you caught me..." he said in a low voice so no one else could hear him.

Doing as he was told, Dib slowly stepped forward to knock on the door.

That's when he heard Red yelling from inside. "This better be good!" he sounded angry.

Flinching back at the tone of his voice, Dib finally called through the door to Zim's leader. "I-I caught Zim, sir. I found him in the kitchen while preparing some nachos to bring here." he said before everything grew silent for a few moments.

"Really? GOOD! Bring him in!" Tallest Red said, no longer sounding angry all of a sudden.

But Zim wasn't fooled by this sudden calmness as he gulped nervously but tried not to show it.

Hesitating momentarily, Dib slowly reached forward for the door before pushing it open slowly, walking in with Zim and having a look around.

Lounging on a couch in the corner of the room, Tallest Purple laid sprawled out with his arms crossed, still a bit pouty that he hadn't been greeted properly, before lifting his head just to have his antennae perking at the sight of the nachos. "Oooh! My nachos!" he was up in a flash and over by Dib's side, taking the dish to start digging in happily, not once noticing Zim.

Head bowed, Zim lifted his gaze up to look at Purple. "Hello, my Tallest." his voice came out quiet, respectful.

"Eh? Zim? What are you doing here?" Purple asked before looking at Red. "What is he doing here?" he pointed at Zim, blinking confusedly at his co-ruler.

Tallest Red merely waved that question off with a hand. "Oh, you know, Purple. Just being a nuisance, as always. He tried to pass off as a successful invader when in fact he hadn't even managed to take over that planet he's been on for the past...What was it? 5 years now? Anyways, you know the one. The one with that large headed human he's always blabbering about." he said, brushing Purple's question off as though it were nothing.

"Oh..." Purple then shrugged. "Alright then." he returned to enjoying his nachos, plopping himself back down onto the couch he had been on earlier.

"My Tallest, wait!" Zim spoke up so as to catch the others attention again, pleading with the more understanding and manipulative Purple to listen.

"What, Zim?" Purple asked, looking up from his nachos yet again to see what the other wanted.

"You can't destroy the Earth! I'll do anything if you don't destroy it! I'll leave the Empire! I'll never bug you again! I'll live in exile for all eternity! But please..." he begged the purple-eyed Irken to hear him out, bowing his head again.

"Hmmm? Destroy the Earth? I never said anything about destroying the Earth." Purple said, then looking back over at Red. "What nonsense is he talking about now, Red?" he asked, just knowing the other had something to do with this.

"Uhh...Well, I figured, you know. Why not?" Red smiled innocently at Purple.

But Purple only glared back at him. "Wasn't that planet a reserve?" he said, knowing they had talked about it before.

"Uhh...Was it? I didn't think it was..." Red tried acting like he had no idea what Purple was talking about.

"You just wanted Dib and I to suffer!" Zim cut in, glaring at Red.

"Dib? Who's Dib? This is beginning to sound like some kind of alien soap opera." Purple's eyes fell half lidded.

"He's that big headed human I just told you about. That's just what Zim calls him." Red said, rolling his eyes.

Looking back at Red, his expression not particularly happy, Purple merely narrowed his eyes on his partner. "Well, either way, I don't want that planet destroyed. It has really good snacks! Zim sent me some once!" he said, knowing that despite Red being the more authoritative of the two of them, he was the one who always got his way, mainly because Red rarely ever told him no and would never think of contradicting his mate. "I want to speak with Zim alone." he said, then making his way to the entrance of his and Red's room, waiting for Zim to follow him.

Nodding at Dib to let him go, Zim pulled his hands free of the fake bonds and followed behind Pur into the room to talk.

A/N: And I leave you all there, because I suck like that. XD But anyways, keep your eyes open for Chapter 9 if you want to find out what happens next. And as for those of you who reviewed, let me take this time now to respond. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. No worries about not logging in. I understand that you people have lives outside of sitting around wating for this story to be updated. XD It'd actually be pretty sad if any of you didn't. So a signed review is all I really need. =3 But anyways, thank you so much for being such a loyal reader and reviewer. I actually rather enjoy answering any questions any of you have for me. Your questions thus far have been quite good ones, and I don't mind at all answering them. Also, talking to you guys gives me a better chance to get to know some of you. And I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much. We try to supply our readers with plenty of ZADR fluff to hold you all over until the REAL romance starts. XD So hopefully you'll all continue reading despite the lack in romance so far. It really does get more intense though later into the story. I can promise you that. Of course, for the safety of this story, those chapters shall be posted over on AFF. I don't trust FF enough for them not to remove this story for later sexual content. They did that to one of my earlier stories, and I don't want it happening again. So you'll all just have to bare with me there. But anyways, even without those scenes being posted here, we'll be sure to keep the content of this story as interesting as possible. =3 Hope you continue to read and enjoy, and I look forward to hearing back from you again. =3

To kaoru1174: Aw, well thank you for reviewing this last chapter. *Hug* I understand being too lazy to review also. I'm that way a lot of the time too, so I guess I won't hold it against any of you. XD But anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, even though Gir didn't get to go with Dib. Though I think Gir may have blown Dib's cover had he brought the insane little robot with him. And perhaps interrupted Zim and Dib's fluffy ZADR scene. XD But fear not. This be quite a long story as it is. And before we focus on the two sequels we have planned for it, we'd like to finish actually role playing this one story first and achieving our goal of posting possibly the longest, in terms of chapters, ZADR story on the internet. Honestly, I don't think that will be too hard considering the amount of chapters I've gotten typed out so far. We're at least, to the best of my knowledge, well over half way there. So hopefully you'll continue to read, enjoy, and review throughout the remainder of this story. =3 Thanks again for responding and we hope you enjoy this quick update. 8D


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Alright. Sorry for the bit of wait again, you guys. I was gone most of today out bowling with my dad and some other people he was trying to teach how to bowl. It was pretty fun despite how anti-social I usually am. But I did NOT forget about updating the next chapter of ZADR Orange. So for those of you who have waited so patiently, here be Chapter 9. =3 Much love to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert list. Remember that feedback is much appreciated. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Tallest Red/Tallest Purple: Both of us.

Beta: Notgonnadie

Watching as Zim left with Purple, Dib suddenly felt rather uncomfortable being left alone with Red only, unsure whether he should leave or stay.

Closing the door behind them, Purple turned to face Zim once they were alone, circling him a few times before slinking up behind him to place two hands with long, slender fingers on his shoulders. "So...Tell me, Zim...You 'like' this Dib-human that Red has been talking about this entire time?" he questioned the other, almost suspiciously.

Zim blushed at having Purple so close. There had been a reason why he preferred to speak with HIM over Red after all, the same reason Red always wanted him gone. "Yes...I like him." he answered back confidently, eyes fixed on anywhere but Purple.

Snaking his arms even more around Zim, Purple then rested his chin on one of the others shoulders. "And do you 'prefer' him over your Tallest?" he breathed into Zim's antennae.

Blushing even more, Zim merely glared at the floor. "We broke it off, Pur...I like Dib now, okay...?" he said, more sternly to his purple-eyed leader.

Antennae drooping at that response, Purple sighed and stood up straighter. "Yeah...You and practically every other Irken on this ship...Do you know, Red won't even take a vacation with me anymore let alone come to sleep with me at night...?" he said in a quiet voice to the other.

His own antennae drooping at the others words, Zim couldn't help but send Purple a fairly confused look. "What? Why not? You two were so close..." he said, worried now for his Tallest/ex.

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me...Am I really all that obnoxious to be around?" Purple asked, sending Zim a somewhat hurt look.

"Of course not!" Zim spat out quickly, reaching up to comfort Purple. "...I think Red's just being a jerk. Maybe you should talk with him about this..." he offered his bit of advice to him.

But Purple could only sigh out unsurely. "Would you come with me?" he asked, sending Zim a pleading look now.

Smiling sympathetically, Zim nodded. "Sure." he agreed to go with the other to face Red.

Meanwhile, said Irken was by now pacing the room back and forth nervously, his hands and fingers twitching from how long they were taking in there.

Standing off to one side, Dib merely remained in the corner of the room, trying to act as though he were invisible so as not to catch Red's attention, his legs shaking more and more with each passing minute Zim was in there with his leader.

Snapping his head up once he noticed both Zim and Purple exiting the room, Red couldn't help but snap at them suspiciously. "What the heck was all of that about? What could you two have possibly been doing in there that was taking so long?" he demanded, wanting answers.

Purple sighed. "Nothing, Red. We were just...talking..." he said, glancing back at Zim for a moment.

Eyes narrowing slightly on the other in suspicion, Red couldn't help but circle himself around the other. "And what exactly were you two 'talking' about? Huh? Huh?" he asked, pointing accusingly at Purple.

Walking over to where Dib was still standing, Zim turned to look back at Red. "We'll be the ones asking the questions, Red. Right, Pur?" he said, grinning at Red's shocked face when he heard Zim using Purple's pet name.

Nodding slightly at the other, Purple looked back at Red.

Pressing close to Dib as Purple turned to confront Red, Zim, wrapped his arms around Dib for both his and the disguised human's comfort.

But Dib was anything but comforted by the small embrace as his body tensed up at the feel of Zim wrapping his arms around him, his eyes wide as he looked back at the other. "Ummm...Zim? D-Did you forget that I'M STILL IN DISGUISE?" he whispered urgently to the other, hoping neither of Zim's leaders were paying them any mind for the time being.

Zim merely pet Dib's head lightly though, disregarding the others words as though they were nothing. "No...But if I can't show the way I feel now, it could ruin our chances..." he said, smiling at his human with eyes half lidded.

Blinking his eyes confusedly at the others words and the small pet to his head, Dib could feel his cheeks heating up considerably.

Noticing the small display of affection between the two out of the corner of his eye, Red turned and let out a low growl. "Hey! Wait a minute!" he stormed up to Zim and Dib, reaching out a hand towards the holographic antennae on Dib's head.

Pulling back just to have the holographic device that had been serving as his disguise ripped away, Dib instantly shrunk down in Zim's arms at being exposed, eyes wide with fear as he cowered against the other.

"I knew it! I knew I didn't recognize you! How the heck did you get back on board?" Red exclaimed, closing in on the human menacingly.

"Red!" Purple grabbed his mate by the arm and turned him around so he'd look him in the eyes. "We're not finished talking!" his grip on the other tightened. "Why have you been ignoring me lately? Have you just grown tired of being with me? Or is it something else? Because if you're planning on leaving me for another Irken, I deserve to know!" he glared at the other, an all too serious look on his face.

Watching the display in front of him, Zim held Dib close, stroking his hair soothingly.

"Wh-What?" Red floated back a step. "What do you mean? I'm not leaving you...I just...Uhh..." he stuttered out just to be interrupted by Purple.

"Oh, come on, Red! You hardly spend any time with me anymore, you refuse to come to bed with me until I'm already asleep, and you probably didn't even remember that today was the day I planned on coming back from my vacation! So just admit it already! You've lost interest in me and moved on to another Irken, haven't you...?" he said, staring the other straight in the eyes.

"NO! I haven't moved on! There is no one else for me! I only want you!" his voice turned from angry to panicked as he tried to make the other believe him.

Zim, however, could only sneer at that remark. "Doesn't look like it to me." He commented, half under his breath.

"SHUT IT, ZIM!" Red snapped his head around to glare at Zim again.

Antennae having by now drooped as low as they possibly could on his head, Purple just stood there with his arms crossed, looking down at the ground unsurely, a still somewhat hurt look on his face. "S-So…You HAVEN'T grown bored with me…? A-And you'll start spending more time with me again…?" he lifted just his eyes to look at Red.

"Well, I-I AM kind of busy right now you know..." he seemed reluctant to agree to that last part.

Frowning even more, Purple sighed yet again at the others words. "Th-Then maybe we should spend some time apart from each other, seeing as how you're too busy to spend any time with me." He seemed about ready to just walk out of that room altogether.

"NO! I...Uh...I...OKAY! We'll go on a vacation together! Will that make you happy?" he finally gave in, afraid now that he would lose Purple for good if he didn't do something to stop him from leaving.

That had Purple's antennae perking up. "We will? Do you mean it, Red?" he asked, looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes.

Sighing, Red could only bow his head before nodding slowly. "Yes, Pur. We'll go on vacation together..." he said before snapping his head up to glare at Zim. "But AFTER I've rid the universe of HIM." He pointed at the Irken invader.

"What? Oh, no you don't! You're not laying a finger on him! OR the planet he's been living on for the past 5 years! You promised me a few years back that it would remain a reserve AND that you'd leave Zim alone!" he narrowed his eyes on Red again.

"But I HATE him!" Red jabbed a finger at Zim accusingly.

Smirking at Red's reaction, Zim turned to whisper in Dib's ear. "Only because I'm a threat to his love life. Hehe..." he snickered into his hands amused.

Purple, of course, didn't find this funny at all as he narrowed his eyes even more on Red. "Hate him, or are you just JEALOUS of him?" he said, taking a step forward to press the front of his body to Red's, nuzzling his neck.

"I chose you over everyone else, including Zim…" he said, glancing back at Zim, his antennae drooping just a bit. "And Zim…chose that human over everybody else...So you shouldn't be jealous of him." He brought his gaze back to stare Red in the eyes.

Sighing heavily, Red closed his eyes and leaned his head on Purple's shoulder. "I know..." he said in a low voice before looking up, sparing a glare in Zim's direction as he brought his own gaze back to Pur. "He can live...And the stupid planet with him." He knew when he was beat, even if he wouldn't admit it.

"YES!" Zim couldn't help but shout in glee, throwing up his arms into the air before glomping onto Dib and nuzzling him lovingly.

"Ack!" Dib let out a startled noise at the sudden glomp as he lost his balance, finding himself on the ground in a matter of seconds with Zim on top of him. Still fairly confused by the dialogue that had just passed between Zim and his leaders, all he could do was blink at Zim and then over at his leaders and then back at Zim again, tilting his head to one side as Zim nuzzled him before finally just shrugging and closing his eyes, nuzzling his face to Zim's chest.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update. Bet you guys didn't see that coming. XD ZimxPurple = 3 But anyways, keep your eyes open for Chapter 10. Should be up in about another week. In the meantime, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To kaoru1174: Indeed, Dib was quite panicky. XD That's pretty much how I role play him throughout this entire story. Thus the OOC warning at the top. But he's cute. Panicky Dib = 3. As for Purple, as you can see in this chapter, he's already on Zim's side. No convincing necessary. Zim knew right from the start that Purple would never let Red kill him due to their past relationship. Especially since Red only wants to kill him out of jealousy, a repeated theme in this story as you'll see in later chapters. But anyways. Hope you enjoyed this quick update. =3 And thanks for the encouragement. We really love getting review from you people. Lets us know we're not screwing up too horribly. XD

To Illisandria Carthain: Yesh! Purple is the nice one whereas Red is just a plain ass. Poor Purple is so tormented in this story later on though. D8 WHY IS IT THAT WE ENJOY TORMENTING OUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS SO MUCH? I honestly have no idea. Perhaps because the more we torment them the cuter they seem. XD But anyways, to answer your first two questions, Gaz and Professor Membrane won't come into the story until just a little bit later still. Though they are in it, I can guarantee that. As for your question regarding why I don't just post the sex scenes on here, it's because, as I said in the last chapter, FF has already removed one of my other stories in the past for containing sexual content. Even with an M rating. I'm well aware of the many stories that pass under the radar on here. I've been writing fanfiction here for about 8 years. Even have at least three stories containing sexual content in them that FF has failed to remove thus far. But it was devistating when they removed my other story a few years back and this is one story I'd really rather not have removed. So I'm not taking any chances on it. The sex scene doesn't come until Chapter 34 so having to repost the entire story were I to lose it after reaching that chapter would be ten times worse. The chapter will be posted over on AFF when we get to it and I'll post a note directing you guys to the link when the time comes. But until then, there's much more to this story than just sex. Besides, I'm convinced that the reason my other story got deleted was because somebody (probably some ZADR hater) reported it to FF administration. I'm not allowing any haters out there the opportunity to turn me in again. So I hope that clears up my reasoning for not wanting to post the sex scene here. Otherwise, I'm just glad to hear that you're still reading and enjoying our story despite the lack of sex in it thus far. XD

To Watermelondrea: Yesh! The Earth is saved! And so is Zim! 8D ...For now...XD Lol. Just kidding...Or am I? X3 But anyways. Well, as you've probably read by now, things haven't heated up all too much yet. They don't really until Chapter 34. But there's plenty of fluff to hold you all over until then. Fluff and plot development. Hope that fact doesn't ruin the story for you too much. The plot development really is needed though for this story to blossom. Chapter 34 will be the catalyst for a much larger plot in all this. But until we reach that point, we need to work through a few other plot details. With that said, we hope you continue to read and enjoy this story. So thank you muchly for the kind review. We really appreciate it. ^_^

To jayrobb328: Oh, yes. This story is actually quite a sad one throughout. Poor Zim, Dib, AND Purple are tormented throughout it. But we're hopefully working towards a happier ending in the story for at least Zim and Dib. Purple's fate is as of yet still undecided. His happy ending may not come until we begin work on one of our sequels for this story. But anyways, that little mind image of yours I can see much better with Zim in the picture rather than Red. XD Because Red won't be happy until Zim is dead and out of his life. And I assume this chapter pretty clearly demonstrates why. But anyways, hope this update was satisfying enough for you. Thank you for the praise. We're just happy to hear you people are still enjoying it so much. =3

To leyu02.O wait leviathan02 too: Wow. That's gotta be one of the longest pennames I've seen in quite a while. XD Anyways. Yeah. Sorry for the cliffhanger. I have a measurement system I use when creating these chapters. And often times the chapters get cut off at weird points. So please just bare with me here. XD Hope this chapter was satisfying enough to make up for it, even though I kind of left you all on another cliff hanger here. I promise this story will be updated regularly though. So please continue to read and review. It's you guys that keep us going. Thanks muchly for the kind words and we hope to hear from you again really soon. =3

(Jesus Christ. I think the Author's Note and responses to your guys' reviews came out longer than the actual chapter did. XD)


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Argh! Another late-ass chapter! Sorry about that, you guys. I really have no excuse this time except that I was being lazy yesterday. Would have gotten the chapter up earlier today, but then one of my friends pulled me away, and I just couldn't stay awake for the life of me today. But I'm awake now, so let me get this posted while I'm thinking about it. Thanks again to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert list. You guys rock. Here be Chapter 10 of ZADR Orange. And remember, feedback is much appreciated. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Tallest Red/Gir: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gaz/Miss Bitters: Me

Tallest Purple: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Hugging Red tightly, Purple ran his tongue up his neck lovingly.

Face turning a dark green, an evil smirk spread across Red's face before falling away at seeing Zim still there. 'Irk! Gotta get him out of here.' he thought before turning to address Zim. "Hey, Zim. Why don't you take your human back to his planet now. How about it?" he said, just wanting the other out of there now.

Purple giggled. "Yeah, that might be best. A little alone time." he smirked seductively up at Red, his eyes half lidded.

Eyes growing wide, Zim grinned himself, getting the same idea the Tallest had. So, scooping Dib up, he rushed out. "Yes, my Tallest! Thanks for everything!" he slammed the door shut as he left.

"So...Would you prefer we did it right here or back in the bedroom?" Purple smirked at Red as he ran a finger down the others chest seductively, staring at him with half lidded eyes.

Red smirked also. "We'd probably be more comfortable in the bedroom." he began leading Purple by one hand towards their room.

Meanwhile, Dib clung to Zim tightly, not exactly having expected to be so suddenly lifted off the floor and carried out of the room.

Lifting his head, he peered up at Zim. "Ummm...Zim...I-I think your ship is waiting right outside your leaders' ship where I boarded earlier." he informed the other before he ran past it.

Zim screeched to a halt. "REALLY?" he gave Dib a big kiss. "I knew you were useful, Dib-human." he grinned and ran towards the hanger to get his ship.

Blushing a bright red at the kiss, Dib could only sigh out contently, resting his head against Zim's chest as the other carried him in the direction of the hanger, his eyelids slowly drifting closed. "No...problem, Zim..." he yawned, all of a sudden feeling worn out by all the excitement. Finally closing his eyes all the way, he then drifted off to sleep in the others arms.

When Dib finally awoke again, Zim had already loaded them both into the voot and had the ship orbiting around Earth as he held Dib close in his arms. "Do you like the view?" he asked as Dib slowly came to.

"Hmmm..." Dib blinked his eyes partway open, yawning and rubbing at one of them with his wrist. Then, after a few moments, he snapped fully awake again and stared at the view of Earth in awe. "Wow...It's beautiful up here..." he smiled up at Zim.

Smiling back at him with his eyes half lidded, Zim stroked Dib's hair. "So, what shall we do now, Dib pet?" he asked, sending Dib an almost suggestive look.

"Well, what do you feel like doing? Earth's safe, and your leaders are going to leave us alone from now on. A-And we're not enemies anymore, so we won't be chasing each other around any longer. S-So I guess I'm perfectly fine with whatever it is you want to do." Dib stared back at Zim, waiting for an answer of his own.

Face turning a dark green, a sly smile crossed Zim's face. "I have...ideas, Dib-human." he leaned in to nibble at Dib's ear. "MANY ideas." he whispered almost seductively into the others ear.

Gasping and tensing up completely, Dib could feel his face flushing a bright red at the feel of Zim's teeth grazing his ear. "Y-You do?" he swallowed thickly, a bit nervous about what the Irken had in mind.

Zim snickered. "Of course." he licked the side of Dib's face. "I ALWAYS have ideas." the last word left his mouth in a quiet hiss.

Dib squirmed around uncomfortably a bit. "I-I always thought all your ideas had to do with world domination though..." he almost seemed to be trying to change the subject.

"Well...You got the domination part right..." Zim giggled, holding Dib tighter.

Feeling his cheeks burning now, Dib sent back a nervous glance to Zim before squirming about in the others arms just to find that the Irken didn't have any plans of letting go of him anytime soon. "Y-You know...I-I told Gir that if we weren't back in an hour, he should tell my sister to take Tak's ship and get off the planet. M-Maybe we should get back down there before he does that and Gaz decides to kick my ass for sending her on a random space trip." he struggled now to pull free from the other.

Sighing, Zim's antennae drooped. "Yeah...I guess so..." he let go of Dib and moved back to the ship's controls, flying them back towards Earth.

Scrambling out of Zim's lap and into the seat next to his, Dib sank down into it, a bit shaken still by Zim's advances, unsure whether he was ready yet for what he was pretty sure Zim had in mind. Playing with his fingers nervously, he felt a tad bit bad though for ruining Zim's fun in all this. "S-Sorry...I-I ruined the moment just now, didn't I?" he apologized, still not used to this new found relationship with Zim.

Antennas wilting even more, they dangled down in front of Zim's face as he ignored Dib, favoring staring out the front window the rest of the way back home.

Flinching back a bit at the look on Zim's face, Dib whispered another quiet apology before looking off to the side awkwardly, hugging himself tightly. "Sorry..." he pulled his knees to his chest.

Saying nothing in response to that the whole trip home, Zim merely landed the voot in his base once they were back before jumping out and making his way out of the room. "You know where the door is..." his voice held little emotion to it.

Watching Zim leave, a hurt look upon his face, Dib felt as though his heart had been ripped in two. Blinking back tears, he quickly made his way back down into the living room and headed for the front door, opening it and then slamming it shut behind him as he headed for home.

Down in his lab, Zim was at this point banging his head against the wall. "Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!" he slid down onto his knees, his eyes watering up. "Why did I have to do that? I KNEW he didn't want to!" he said as he heard the door slam upstairs. "He hates me now..." he curled up on the floor.

Making his way home quickly, Dib locked himself up in his room to cry himself to sleep as he felt his entire world crumbling all around him and what little hope of happiness he had been clinging onto shattering with it.

It wouldn't be until the next day that Zim was awoken by Gir, who seemed to be acting much too happy for Zim to handle. "Go away, Gir...I don't feel like doing anything today." he grumbled, antennae shuddering.

"But you gots SCHOOL!" Gir reminded him.

Sighing, Zim curled up again. "I don't care..."

"But MARY will be there!" Gir continued to push the subject.

"O-Oh...Right..." Zim blushed and went to stand up slowly. "I bet he still hates me though..." his antennae drooped as he went to go get ready for school.

Meanwhile, over at Dib's house, Gaz stood outside Dib's door, knocking on it loudly.

"Dib! Hurry up and get ready for school already!" she yelled at her brother to hurry up, already waiting for him to walk to school with her like they always did.

But Dib merely threw something at his door. "Just leave me alone, Gaz! I'm not going to school today!" he yelled back at her, sinking down under the covers of his bed.

Gaz glared at the door. "So, what? You skipped dinner last night, refused to come down for breakfast this morning, and now you're blowing off school too?" she seemed to lecture him from her spot on the other side of his door.

"I said I don't want to go today, so just leave me alone and quit asking me about it!" he was getting agitated now by all her questions.

"Pff...Suit yourself..." she finally gave in, walking away.

Turning over in his bed, his eyes red and puffy from crying all night and getting little sleep, Dib sniffled wetly before whispering to himself. "I'm never leaving this room ever again..." he hid his face in a pillow to continue crying.

Back with Zim, said Irken was unwillingly dragging himself to school, not looking up until he got to class, noticing then that Dib wasn't in his seat. "H-He...is mad..." he visibly drooped, sighing heavily before sinking into his chair, no one caring about either him or the missing Dib.

To say the very least, the next several hours were torturous for Zim as he waited out the day to be over.

"And don't forget to study for your history test on Monday. Now, before you all leave for the weekend, I need somebody to bring Dib Membrane his homework. Do I have any volunteers?" their teacher droned on, only the last part really catching Zim's attention.

Before he could stop himself, Zim's arm shot up into the air. "I'll do it, Miss Bitters!" he said, just needing an excuse to go and see Dib.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. And look! We be heading towards a new plot in the story. Not the main plot, but still a very important one nonetheless. Anyways, keep your eyes open for Chapter 11. I'll try to get it up on time next week. Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To kaoru1174: Lol. See. I told you people you wouldn't be expecting it. But then again, there are lots of things in this story that you people probably aren't going to be expecting. So hopefully you guys all enjoy the many surprises we have to come in this story. But anyways. You don't really have to worry too much about the ZimxPurple relationship in this story. It IS a ZADR story through and through, though their past relationship is just something you'll want to be familiar with when we reach later chapters. And yesh! Earth is saved! Hooray for Earth! 8D Now we be moving on to some more complex plots in this story, the most important of which won't come for a long while still. So we hope you continue to read and enjoy as the story progresses. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. As I've said before, no worries. I respond to all my reviewers whether they be logged in or not. But anyways, yesh. Gotta love the ZAPR, even if this is a ZADR story. I don't know why. I just love that pairing so much though. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed writing it. XD As for your weekly question, the more I think about it, I think it's pretty safe to assume that no, there will not be anymore semi unconventional pairings in this story. We have a few other pairings, but I consider them to be fairly straight forward for the most part. Pretty obvious ones if you ask me. The main pairings are even mentioned in the summary of the story. So I'm doubtful as to whether they will come as a surprise to any of you. Thanks again for reading and commenting. We really appreciate it. And keep the questions coming if you have anymore. We'll be more than willing to answer them, save they don't give away too many obvious hints as to what happens in future chapters of this

To 1337kitsune: Lol. Oh, yes. I suppose I get a little carried away at times with the length of my responses to you reviewers. But I do love to talk. Anyways, I've cut it down quite a bit this week. (That, and I also didn't get as many reviews to respond to. XD) But anyways, I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much. This story is indeed OOC, and that is why we have a warning at the beginning of each chapter for it. Though to be perfectly honest, it's about to get more OOC than you could possibly imagine. XD I had no intentions of trying to role play Dib in character for this particular story. Besides, his OOC character in this is so much cuter. X3 I understand the difficulty in finding ZADR stories like that and am quite flattered that you consider our story to be one of those few rare ones like that out there. We really do try to keep you people satisfied when writing this. Anyways, that special chapter you're looking for is still quite a ways away. (Chapter 34) But hopefully you'll enjoy the storyline leading up to it. We have quite a few more important details to get through that are necessary to progress the plot before posting that chapter. So please bare with us. We certainly hope you find it to be perfect when we post it. We did have quite a lot of fun writing it at least. Anyways, thanks a ton for the wonderful review. We look forward to hearing from you again soon. =3


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Haha! I be updating this chapter on time this week! So for those of you who have been waiting so patiently, here be Chapter 11 of ZADR Orange. X3 Much love sent out to those of you who have faved the story or added it to your story alert list. You guys are awesome. And remember, feedback is much appreciated as well. So we hope you all enjoy this next update. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib/Miss Bitters/Gaz: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Dropping a giant pile of papers on his desk, Miss Bitters then pointed out the door. "Fine! Now get out of here!" she ordered Zim to leave her classroom.

Grabbing all the papers, Zim wasted no time at all making a break for Dib's house. "M-Maybe...Maybe he will forgive me." he said to himself, holding the papers tightly as he made his way to the human's house. Arriving at the house within a matter of minutes, he hesitated before making his way up to the front door. "Well...Here goes nothing..." he whispered to himself before knocking on the door.

Answering the door a few moments later, Gaz could only glare at him when she saw who it was. "What the hell do YOU want?" she demanded, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently, having had to pause her game to answer the door.

Zim could only flinch at her words a bit. "I-I'm here t-to-" he stopped his stuttering to swallow thickly. "TO BRING DIB HIS HOMEWORK!" he spit the rest out quickly, head bowed as he held up the stack of papers in front of him before glancing back up at her from his hiding place behind them, unsure of the current situation.

Merely glaring at him, Gaz stepped out of his way nonetheless to let him in the house. "He's upstairs in his room, SULKING." she informed him before turning away to walk back into the living room. "Good luck getting him out of there." she then muttered, returning to her seat on the couch. "And close the door!" she yelled back at him, not wanting to have to get up again to close it herself.

"Uhh..." Zim stepped inside and closed the door behind him, still feeling unsure about himself. "I'm going to...go up then..." he said, rather nervously.

"Whatever." Gaz responded back, really not caring what he did so long as he didn't disturb her again.

Nodding in her direction, still trying to build up his courage enough to confront Dib, Zim finally proceeded to head up the stairs towards Dib's room, knocking on the door softly when he came to stand right outside it. "Dib?" he called out the others name through the door quietly, not sure what to expect from the boy.

Eyes snapping wide open at the sound of Zim's voice on the other end of his door, Dib sat up slightly in the bed. "Z-Zim...?" the Irken's name escaped his lips before he turned to glare at the door, throwing something at it in response.

"Go away, Zim! Just leave me alone! I was stupid to think you wanted anything more than sex from me!" he screamed back through the door, feeling himself breaking down again as the memory of Zim's words yesterday ripped through his heart a second time, leaving him to bleed on the inside even more.

Feeling a stab through his spooch, Zim could only pull back slightly, flinching at Dib's words. "Dib? I-I'm sorry...I shouldn't have come..." he sighed to himself. "I knew you hated me..." he continued softly, unable to bring himself to leave as he just slid down to the floor in front of the door. "Please come out, Dib..." he still tried to convince the other to open the door regardless.

Wiping at one of his eyes with his wrist, Dib couldn't stop the tears from coming as more tears just took the place of the tears he had already wiped away. "And why should I forgive you? You didn't exactly forgive me yesterday when I apologized for not being ready to take such a huge step in our relationship! I know you wanted to have sex, but humans don't just jump into such things as that so suddenly! Besides, Zim! I'm 16 for crying out loud!" he exclaimed, glaring even more in the direction Zim's voice was coming from.

Wilting at those words, Zim could only drop his gaze to the ground, ashamed. "I-I'm sorry...I thought you were mad at me...I-I didn't know you just weren't ready...You didn't say anything..." he tried to explain his actions, pulling his knees to his chest and sighing. "I'm sorry...I forget sometimes...humans are...very different..." he apologized again, praying the other would understand his reasoning for acting in that way.

"What made you think I was mad at you? Do you think I would have apologized if I had been mad at you?" Dib could only explode on the other now, sniffling wetly still. "I was just nervous! I've never...I've never done anything like that before!" he pulled his own knees to his chest, glad now that there was a door between them seeing as how his cheeks were burning from that statement.

A sad look coming to his face, Zim remained silent, feeling horrible now. "...Can I come in, Dib?" he finally asked after several moments of silence.

Remaining silent for a few more long moments, Dib finally let out a shaky breath before answering. "Th-That depends...Do you plan on trying to force yourself on me again?" he still sounded angry as he asked that question.

"NO! Don't say I would do that, Dib! I won't! I swear!" he panicked now, not wanting Dib to think of him in that sort of way.

Falling silent again for several moments, Dib finally stood up after a minute or two, blanket draped about him, and made his way over towards the door to unlock and open it slightly, peeking two tired, puffy eyes out at Zim. "Fine..." he finally gave in, stepping away from the door to allow Zim entrance into his room as he headed back over to his bed and wiped his eyes on a pillow, his room a mess, old photos of Zim scattered across the floor from photo albums he had thrown at the door every time somebody had tried to get him to come out of his room.

Shocked that Dib had actually agreed to let him in, taking the gesture as a good sign, Zim hesitantly stepped into the room, staring nervously at all the scattered images of himself on the floor and dented albums laying in the doorway. "Heh...Looks like you had a war in here..." he tried to make small talk, getting really nervous when the joke was met only with silence from the other, causing him to grip the homework papers in his hands tighter, worried something bad would happen...like rejection. "C-Can I sit down?" he asked, pointing awkwardly at the foot of the bed.

Hugging a pillow to himself, Dib merely glared off to the side. "I guess..." he said, pulling his knees up to his chest again, trying to keep the tears back.

Sitting down on the bed across from him, Zim couldn't help but glance up at Dib nervously. "I'm sorry..." he apologized yet again, this time holding up the homework papers for Dib. "I-I brought you your homework..." he tried to keep his voice from shaking as he had no idea what to do or say now that he was in Dib's room. "P-Please forgive me..." he begged the other in a quiet voice, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. "I didn't mean to come off that way, honest I didn't..." he said, just wanting to prove to Dib he wasn't as bad as how he had come off yesterday.

Hiding his face in his pillow, Dib could only shaking his head slowly. "Y-You really hurt me yesterday, Zim...Worse than you ever have before...A-And it's going to be a long time before I can fully trust you again..." he inhaled shakily then exhaled, his body shaking with emotion.

Shaking now himself, Zim couldn't keep hold of the papers any longer as he dropped them to the ground. "I-I know...But please...I won't do it again. I swear...J-Just...Don't avoid me like this..." he couldn't bring his gaze up to look at Dib any longer.

Lifting his head slightly to stare back at Zim for a few moments, Dib also dropped his gaze back down to the ground when Zim refused to look at him. "I'm not avoiding you now, am I?" he asked in a suddenly very low and calm voice.

Entire body drooping, Zim could only sigh again. "It feels like it..." he admitted before looking back up at Dib sadly. "I'm still over here alone, aren't I...?" he finally managed to look Dib straight in the eyes.

Sighing at Zim's words, Dib slowly scooted himself up closer to Zim, knowing that if he was going to get over this, he'd have to at least stop avoiding Zim in order to do so.

Smiling weakly at Dib, Zim eyed Dib sadly still. "You do hate me, don't you?" he said, bringing his gaze back to down in front of him.

Not answering right away, Dib merely seemed to give it some thought before responding back to the other. "...I don't hate you...I wanted to...after I got home last night...but I couldn't bring myself to..." he squeezed his eyes tightly shut, hugging himself and shivering slightly.

"I'm sorry...I couldn't keep myself away, Dib..." Zim said as he timidly went to wrap an arm around Dib. "Will you ever forgive me?" he asked, knowing that just so long as there was a chance, he'd be okay in the end.

Tensing slightly at Zim's touch, Dib could only peek his eyes open partway, new tears streaming down his cheeks. "I-I don't want to be hurt again..." he seemed hesitant to forgive the other.

"I-I don't want to hurt you again, Dib." he pulled back, thinking that perhaps he had done something wrong again.

"I-I don't want to be alone anymore..." he then returned to sobbing into his arms when he felt Zim pulling away.

Worried now that he really had done something wrong, Zim quickly brought up his hands to try and calm Dib down. "No! No, don't cry!" he started waving his arms at the other. "I'm right here! I'm not leaving you!" he didn't want Dib to feel alone either.

Wiping at his eyes with one arm, Dib could only cry more, however, his tears overflowing now. "B-B-But you left me all alone in your ship last night and didn't even care how much it hurt me when you walked out of the room and told me to leave!" he cried, bringing his hands up to hide his face in.

"I...I..." Zim wasn't sure how to respond to that as he stood up from his spot on the bed and stomped his foot frustratedly. "Oh, forget it!" he stopped trying to explain himself and just glomped onto Dib, holding him close now. "I don't WANT to leave you!" he told the other, running a hand up and down his back reassuringly.

Curling up in Zim's arms, Dib hid his face in the others chest, clinging tightly to his uniform top. "Then why did you?" he exclaimed, wanting to know why Zim had walked out on him last night.

"I don't know why! I thought...you didn't like me...I'm sorry. Irkens and humans show their emotions much differently." Zim held Dib tighter, nuzzling into his neck.

Sniffling wetly, Dib slowly began to calm but only slightly as he was still fairly upset. "I didn't know that refusing to have sex with you would give you that impression of me! I thought you would have just wanted to be with me regardless!" he threw out, unable to get over the fact that Zim had reacted so strongly to his not wanting to sleep with him.

Embarrassed now, Zim blushed. "I do though! But...You didn't say you didn't want to...You just changed the subject to go home...You were avoiding me!" he said defensively.

"I was avoiding having sex with you! Not avoiding YOU! I-I just wanted to wait a bit...You know...before we decided to do that...B-Because I didn't want it to be rushed...E-Especially since I have absolutely no idea what the fuck I'm doing, and I just wanted my first time to be perfect...A-And it wasn't helping that contrary to what I thought it would be with another guy...o-or an alien even...o-or YOU..." he argued back, blushing himself now and staring down at the ground with wide eyes.

Facial expression softening, Zim smiled back at Dib. "If you were feeling so confused, why didn't you just tell me?" he asked, hugging the other close and nuzzling up to him. "I could have waited. I still can." he said, hopeful now that he could save this relationship.

"I-I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea...o-or be hurt or disappointed..." his blush deepened as he began to play with his fingers a bit. "...B-Because...and don't take this the wrong way, but...y-you just never seemed to be the most patient of beings when it came to what you wanted...I-I mean...In the past, you never hesitated to go after what you wanted..." he just came out and said what he thought of the other, flinching back afterwords, afraid of what Zim's reaction would be.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. And yesh! Hehehe. More OOCness for you all. XD. No real plot development here, but oh well. Next chapter should be where you all pick up the next plot bunny to follow after. Anyways, keep your eyes open for Chapter 12. We'll see how I do getting it up on time next week. =3. Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To ClockwerkOrange: Why, thank you very much. =3 *Takes sandwich* For taking the time to read and review, here be a cookie in return. *Hands you cookie* Hope you continue to read and enjoy this story. =3

To Don Svelte: Lol. Sorry for the bit of wait. Though, really, it wasn't a full week seeing as how I got it up late last week and on time this week. XD So hopefully the wait wasn't too horrible. Glad to hear you're enjoying our story so much. Here be Chapter 11 to hold you over until the next update. 8D Until next time~!

To : Lol. No. As you'll see in this chapter and the next, they work things out in Dib's room. Heh...He doesn't kidnap Dib until LATER in the story. XD Or does he? Lol. You'll just have to keep on reading to find out. XD

To 1337kitsune: Lol. Anytime. *Hug* I love getting to know my readers. 83 Whether they want to get to know me or not. XD Anyways. Yesh! This be rated M! Chapter 34 is what you'll be looking for in that area and a link will be posted to AFF when we get to it. Glad to hear you enjoyed the last chapter so much. I was a little worried people would be driven away by my overly OOC Dibbeh. XD But I should have more faith in the addictiveness of this story, OOC or not. XD And yes. Zim and Dib have relationship problems all throughout this story. Oh, such relationship problems they have! As for the length of this story, I can assure you this story is nowhere NEAR being done. We're still writing it. And I'm 99.9 percent sure that this story will reach over 100 chapters. It will possibly be one of the longest stories you've ever read, given you don't get scared away by any of the upcoming chapters. They're not really scary. Just a matter of taste in respect to where we take the plot. But I get the feeling you'll enjoy this regardless, given you've read Notgonnadie's stuff and she's doing Zim's parts in all of this. XD I don't think you have much to worry about. But we'll see. =3 Anyways. You'll have plenty to look forward to when it comes to this story for even years to come. Because I know this story will take us well over a year to complete if not more time. After all, I have to completely rewrite our script form RP in narrative form. That's a lot of work. So I hope you enjoy my crappy ficafied version of this story. And once again, yes. That happens a lot in this story. Nothing's set in stone yet until we write it. XD The water balloon idea was mine but we never really entered into a part of this story that I could put them to use. So yeah. XD Thanks again for reveiwing. Until next time. =3

To kaoru1174: Aw, yesh. And here be another new chapter! 8D The Earth is indeed safe and shall most likely remain safe for the remainder of this story. But as this story progresses, so shall the relationship problems. So, no. They really don't ever get a break in this story. We torment them ever so much in it. Thanks for reviewing again. *Hug* Hope to hear from you soon. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Woot! XD I always look forward to your weekly questions. Anyways. You have actually asked me this question before, so let me give you a clearer answer than I did previously. As I said before, Professor Membrane IS in this story. However, he doesn't make an appearance until Chapter 18. So we still have a few chapters to get through before we get to him. For now, just assume he's working, as always, at his lab outside the house. Glad to hear you're enjoying the OOCness of this story. Trust me, there's plenthy of it. And thank you for such a kind compliment. 83 We really do try to keep our readers happy when writing this story, though of course, we also have to keep ourselves interested when writing it. So, if you don't mind following our crazy plot bunnies, you should find yourself quite pleased with the flow of this story. Thanks again for the kind review. *Hug* And we hope to speak with you soon again. =3

To .: And another new reviewer! Hello and welcome! =3 Please don't explode. Here's an update to keep you from exploding for now. But really. You'll want to stay with this particular story as long as you can stand it. XD It has much to offer in the way of plot bunnies and surprises galore! 8D So I hope you continue to read and enjoy and review! 8D Always love getting new reviewers. =3


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Wow...Well, this week seems to have gone by quick enough. At least, to me. Not sure about the rest of you, but I can't believe it's already time to update again. And oh so many faves I have on it. Thanks a ton, you guys. Really, we love getting new readers. And much thanks to those of you who have added the story to your story alert list, of course. =3 Anyways, for those of you who have been waiting oh so patiently, here be Chapter 12 of ZADR Orange. Remember that feedback is much appreciated. 8D

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Contrary to what Dib thought, Zim could only smile at his words before responding back in a soft voice to him. "But, Dib...Things were different back then. This is special." he leaned in to kiss the boy. "I can wait for this." he assured the other comfortingly.

"Y-You'll be my first...A-And hopefully my only, b-but...But I'm not your first, am I? S-Something was going on between you and your leader, wasn't it? A-At least, something was going on between you two in the past..." Dib couldn't help but look up at Zim questioningly.

Zim merely chuckled a little, however. "No, Dib. You're not entirely right on that. Yes, I had a fling with my Tallest, before they took over that is...But we never actually HAD sex...We started...But we had never gotten past foreplay." he blushed, a little embarrassed now. "Of course, Pur always hoped we would, so he kept me as an optional mate, which completely infuriated Red." he hugged Dib tightly. "But I've never actually done it...If we did decide to do it...you would also be Zim's first." he told the other, holding him close.

Staring at Zim with wide, unblinking eyes, Dib could hardly believe the other when he told him he had never had sex before. "Y-You've really never had sex before? The way you were acting last night, s-so...so calm a-and intent on having it, I-I never would have guessed you hadn't had it at least a few times in your life...P-Possibly with even a few other Irkens and not just one...though I suppose foreplay might have something to do with the reason why you were so calm about it...A-And I'm not the first guy you've ever been with..." he seemed to be processing the information in his mind now.

Even more embarrassed now, Zim could only blush more at Dib's words. "Well...No...I have technically been with others...But I've never had sex. No...The furthest I ever got was with Purple...I-It's not like I never wanted to though...I just...couldn't..." he dropped his gaze down to the ground.

"Couldn't? What do you mean by 'couldn't'? Do you mean you didn't want to at the time? O-Or was it some other reason? E-Exactly what happened between you and your leader that you only got to foreplay and no farther?" Dib asked, now interested in what could have made Zim say no to his leader.

Blushing more now, very embarrassed, Zim knew he had to tell Dib if he wanted to stay with the other. "I couldn't do it, Dib...I-I was...afraid...of deep intimacy..." he looked away, face a deep blue color now. "I was scared to have sex..." he had never wanted to admit that to anybody.

Staring at Zim with wide eyes yet again, Dib tilted his head to the side, slightly confused now. "Y-You were afraid? B-But if you were so afraid of it, th-then why were you so eager to have it last night? W-Were you just afraid to have it with your leader? O-Or would you be afraid to have it with me too...?" he asked, trying to straighten things out in his head.

Unable to bring his gaze back to the human, Zim couldn't look Dib in the eyes as he answered. "I don't know...I did fine up until it was time for the actual sex part...though him being my leader might have made me nervous...but...I-I don't know...I wasn't afraid last night...But we hadn't gotten into anything then if you think about it." he finally brought his eyes back up to look at Dib.

"T-True..." Dib sighed. "A-At least you got up to the foreplay part...I-I've never done any sort of foreplay with anyone let alone even been naked in the same room with somebody before. Hell, I haven't even been with anybody up until now...Never been on a date or kissed or even just hugged somebody until just the other day when I was with you...A-And to tell the truth...I-I doubted I ever would..." he dropped his own gaze down to the ground now.

Smiling softly, Zim looked back up at Dib. "Why would you doubt it, human? You are perhaps the most attractive worm baby in our class." he said in all seriousness.

"To you maybe, but the others all think I'm insane, a-and they wouldn't even bother to talk to me if their lives depended on it..." Dib hugged one of his pillows close to himself, resting a cheek against it and closing his eyes.

Running his hand through Dib's hair, Zim could only smile even more. "Forget them, Dib. They don't matter anyways." he hugged the human close.

"It doesn't make it hurt any less..." Dib pressed his cheek to Zim's hand before opening his eyes partway to peer up at the other.

Sighing, Zim merely shook his head and held Dib close. "I know...But just think of everything you've done!" he smiled wide, now wanting to cheer the boy up.

Body seeming to droop, Dib merely shook his head. "I haven't done anything...Not really...I-I just wish the world could know what YOU'VE done, cause they owe you their lives...A-And so do I..." a small smile played along his lips.

"But I couldn't have done it if it weren't for you." Zim kissed him. "You saved the Earth, Dib." he tried to get that through to the human.

Staring back at Zim with somewhat wide eyes, Dib could only shake his head even more. "B-But you're the one who convinced your leaders not to destroy Earth. I-I'm the one who almost ended up having it destroyed because of my big mouth." he sighed, not willing to accept a title he didn't deserve.

"But I wouldn't have gotten to them if it weren't for you." Zim nuzzled him. "You did a BIG part, and you did it well. No one stopped us. You were like a real Irken." he said, drawing Dib's attention back to him.

Blushing a bit at the Zim's praise, Dib couldn't help but smile a bit again. "Heh...S-So...Did you like my disguise then? Y-Your computer was at least able to really make me LOOK like an Irken if nothing else. Gir didn't even recognize me at first. He thought I looked a lot like you." he giggled to himself a bit.

Laughing a little himself, Zim smiled wide at him. "It was a brilliant disguise, Dib." he said in all honesty.

Smiling a little back at him, Dib continued. "I didn't even recognize myself...But it was kind of fun...You know...pretending to be an Irken...E-Even though I was scared shitless at the time...Heh...So...Do you prefer me as a human or as an Irken?" he asked, wanting to know what the other thought.

Blanching at the question, Zim knew it was a bad question to answer truthfully. "Uhh...I like you no matter what you look like, Dib-thing." he answered quickly, hugging him close.

Letting out a small whine at that answer, Dib pouted now, knowing the other was avoiding answering him truthfully. "Awww...Come on, Zim. Tell me which you liked better. I promise not to be offended either way." he held up one hand to show he meant it.

Still feeling rather uncomfortable about answering this however, Zim could only sigh. "Well, you did make...quite an Irken..." he admitted, looking down awkwardly and grinning, a small blush gracing his face. "But you should have kept your hair." he looked back up at the other with a smile.

"M-My hair?" Dib reached up a hand to feel his own scythe lock. "I think that would have given me away. But you know, your computer could probably make me another disguise if you liked it that much." he let go of his hair to consider that.

Blushing at that thought, Zim merely blinked back at him. "Well...Only if you wanted to..." he hadn't considered such a thing himself.

"I-I wouldn't mind. I kind of liked the way it looked on me, a-and I never really liked the way I looked as a human anyways..." he looked down again, fiddling with the blanket now.

"Really?" Zim couldn't help but send him a confused look. "Why don't you like the way you look?" he asked, running a hand through Dib's hair again. "Is it because of school?" his voice grew quiet with that question.

Dib merely shook his head slowly. "No...It's because I look too much like my dad...And I really hate having to wear these glasses sometimes." he pulled them off his face for a moment to rub at his eyes before placing them back on.

Antennae lowering at Dib's words, Zim dropped his gaze down to the blanket Dib was playing with. "Well...If you wanted to...and I mean REALLY wanted to...I could change you..." he blushed before looking back up at Dib to continue. "...biologically...I could make you an Irken...But it would be permanent if I did it..." he warned the other, not wanting to get his hopes up too high.

Eyes growing wide at that bit of information, Dib could only stare speechlessly at Zim for several long moments. "I-Is that really possible? I-I mean...I'd have to think about it, but..." he clutched the pillow he was holding tightly. "...But I think I'd prefer that...W-Would you actually be willing to do that though? I mean, i-if you think it'd be too weird, I would be happy with just getting to wear the disguise every once in a while." he tried not to get too excited about it all at once.

Blushing at Dib's sudden excitement, Zim looked away again. "This is your choice, Dib. Not mine." he said before turning back to kiss him. "But I'll love you no matter what." he smiled, twisting Dib's hair around his fingers. "Though I would like to keep this." he purred a little. "You'd probably have to wear a disguise to go to school and such though...If you DID keep going that is..." he then glared in the direction of the school. "If not, I could just teach you...Or the computer could too." he offered, knowing Dib wouldn't just give up his education so easily.

"I-I wouldn't mind. B-But would I still be able to do the things I could do when I was a human? L-Like swimming or eating human foods? O-Or would I have all the same allergies that you have?" Dib asked, knowing he couldn't just jump into this without knowing what he was getting himself into first.

"I can eat human food...I just don't care for the taste of it." Zim defended, sticking out his tongue as his antennae twitched in thought. "Well, we COULD keep you as a hybrid instead of a full Irken...Then you wouldn't really be irritated by water." he said before a large grin began to spread across his face. "And you'd keep this lovely hair of yours. You'd probably need less of a disguise too if we did it that way..." his sentence suddenly trailed off as a realization dawned on him, causing him to tackle Dib in a big hug excitedly. "And you could still live long like me!" he exclaimed, all smiles now.

Eyes snapping wide open at the sudden hug tackle, Dib found himself on his back within a matter of seconds. "W-Well, wait a second, Zim. I-I haven't decided yet whether I really want to go through with this. I-I'll probably need at least a few days to think it over. I-I mean, this is a really huge change, and if it's irreversible, I don't want to do something I'm not absolutely sure I won't dislike in the end. D-Do you think you could make me a disguise first? One that I can go around in for a few days to see how I like it?" he asked, knowing that if he was going to consider doing this, he'd have to give it a test run first.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. And look! The plot thickens yet again! So keep your eyes open for Chapter 12. Will have that up as soon as physically possible. =3 Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. The OOCness is what makes this story so great. XD And as you can see by reading this chapter, the plot has returned! WITH A VENGENCE! Lol. Just kidding. The plot must now be developed. Anyways, thanks a ton for the cake! 8D Here be a cookie for being such an awesome reader and reviewer! *Hands you cookie* Now, as for your weekly question, the answer is simple, really. Yes, Gaz has a special someone later in the story. As for who it is, I think it's a fairly obvious pairing. Especially since I mention it in the summary of this story. But just in case you or anyone else can't figure it out just by looking at the acronym, let's just keep a secret for now so people can enjoy the surprise to come. XD

To 1337kitsune: Well, I'm not really sure whether you'll get this now seeing as how you're reading the story over on DA, but in the event you continue to read it here also, here be my weekly response to you. =3 I do tend to get carried away with the length of my responses to you guys. But that's just cuz I luvs you all so much! *Huggles* I'm happy that we've managed to inspire you so much. And you really should type up your stories. I always love encouraging people to write. There are so many creative minds out there that aren't put to use in creative ways. Take my brother, for example. He's a great writer but he hardly ever writes anymore nowadays. I miss reading his stories. They were so full of is why I love writing so much. My mind is just wired for it. Probably why this story is going to be so long. I love it so much, I just don't want to stop writing it. And indeed. A year is nothing for a story. This story is going to take much longer to get posted, and even longer to actually finish writing it and figuring out how many chapters it will eventually come out to be. But I'm glad you have the time to read it. I'd consider it a miracle if we somehow managed to finish it even before your 20th birthday. XD Hope you can put up with us for that long. But anyways. Happy Early Birthday. I guess this chapter will be dedicated to you as an early birthday present then. X3 You might have to re-read this story quite a few times actually. So much happens in it, not many people can keep up. Now, as for your question, I believe I answered it over on DA. The title ZADR Orange has nothing to do with the story. It was just a combination of my old username and my new username over on DA. The title just stuck after Notgonnadie made some fanart for it. Remember that chapter 34 is the first AFF chapter in this story, and it'll be all good. And yes. Zim is quite patient with Dib in this story. Thus the OOCness. XD

To Turquoise ebonyfox: Hehe...Your name didn't come through in my responses to all my reviewers last chapter. Sorry about that. FF must have thought I was sending a link because of the "." in your username. So I just took it out this time to prevent that. ^^; But anyways. Yes. The OOCness is what makes this story so great. XD As you'll see in later chapters, Dib's just put through a lot of physical and emotional/mental abuse in this story, thus the PMS mood. XD As for Zim, things are very awkward for him in this story, mostly because he's the one who keeps on screwing things up. But we still love him for it. *Huggles Zim*. X3 Thanks again for reviewing. 8D

To kaoru1174: Lol. They'll at least try to work out their problems until something else horrible happens to them. XD But trust me, they're far from needing counsiling in their relationship just yet. A lot of the problems between them take place because of Dib having emotional/mental problems in this story. But we'll get more into that later in the story. Anyways, hope this next chapter was satisfying enough for you. =3

To ClockwerkOrange: Lol. The sex doesn't come until Chapter So you'll just have to wait for that. But I appreciate the cabbage. Here be another chapter for you in exchange. The TAGR doesn't come for a while still, though it IS in this story. So just hang in there for now and enjoy the updates until we get to that part. But I think everybody dying at the end would be a little out of the question. ^^; Can't possibly have a sequel to this story if everybody in it dies. That would make for a pretty sad sequel if you ask me. So no death for you! X3

To zozanna: Well, hello. Always so nice to see new faces here. =3 Thank you very much for such a kind review. We're glad you're enjoying the story so much. =3 Here be another chapter for you, so get well soon. =3 As for what the characters look like, if you'd like to get a better idea of how they look, you can go ahead and check my profile on here. In it, you will find several links to fanart sent in for this story. I keep it updated regularly with new images. The ones done by me and Notgonnadie are going to be the more accurate ones to how they are portrayed though. I have at least three pictures posted for this story and Notgonnadie does preview images for the story over on DA. So I have those posted in my profile if you'd like to see them. You should be able to just copy and paste the links into your address bar. Hope that helps. =3

To Invader Ang: Indeed. This would be why we have it as a warning at the beginning of each chapter. But for those of you who don't mind, we're glad you enjoy it so much. Fear not, for we shall continue to write. And we hope you will continue to read and review. =3

To Casykirby: And ANOTHER new reviewer to our story! 8D Thank you for taking the time to send us your feedback. We're really happy you're enjoying the story so much. =3 Really, we're quite flattered you consider our updating to be the best part of your week. =3 Here be another chapter for you get excited about! 8D And thank you for the awesome review. Though I can't take all the credit for writing this. Notgonnadie does Zim's parts. I never could have written something like this on my own. =3


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Ack! I'm really sorry about the lateness of this chapter, you guys. I just could NOT get myself to sit down and update yesterday. But I figure I better get this next chapter posted before I leave for Lake Tahoe on Thursday. So for those of you who have waited oh so patiently, here be Chapter 13 of ZADR Orange. Much love to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert list. Remember that feedback is much appreciated. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Looking up at Dib guiltily, Zim could only drop his eyes away after a moment. "I'm sorry..." he blushed, knowing he had been getting ahead of himself. "But yeah...I could make you a disguise...You'd have to come back to my base though. The computer has the disguise machine...And...If you wanted...You could stay for a while while you try it out..." he offered, blinking back up at him after a moment or two.

"I-It's alright. I-I just don't want to do something I might regret in the future. But I can go with you to your base if you need me to. A-And if you don't mind, I-I guess I could stay for a few days while I try out the disguise, though I know I won't really be able to go out in public with it." Dib agreed to take Zim's offer.

Smiling at Dib's answer, Zim nuzzled him affectionately. "I understand. So...Shall we go then? Oh! But you might want to pack a few things before we leave...Just what you can't live without for a few days." he said, not wanting the other to be stranded at his base with nothing but the clothes on his back.

Bringing his gaze back up to look at Zim, Dib could only stare at the Irken wide-eyed. "A-Already? I-I guess that's alright, b-but I haven't really showered or anything since the day before last. So unless you have somewhere in your base that I can clean up, m-maybe I should take a shower first and grab a new pair of clothes to wear." he said, feeling as though it would just be easier if he got it over with now.

"Oh...Heh...I forgot about that. Uhh...Sure. You can take a shower before we leave. While you're at the base, you'll have to take gel baths though. That's all I have." Zim smiled. "But go ahead and take your shower. I'll wait here for you." he said, gesturing to Dib's bed.

Nodding his head at the other, Dib merely turned to gather whatever he'd be needing together. "Alright. That's fine with me. I'll be as quick as I can." he told the other, standing up to find himself a fresh pair of clothes to change into once he was finished taking his shower.

Nodding his own head back at the other, Zim was soon flopping down onto his back on the bed as he waited for Dib to finish and return. He could only imagine what life would be like if Dib were part Irken as he sighed to himself, slowly falling asleep on the bed.

Meanwhile, heading into the hallway bathroom and closing the door behind him, Dib turned the water on in the shower before stripping down and stepping in to begin washing himself off, being as quick as possible so as not to keep Zim waiting too long.

Finishing up quickly, he then proceeded to dry himself off and pull his new pair of clothes on before heading back to his room where he found Zim curled up on his bed asleep.

Blinking down at the other confusedly, Dib could only tilt his head to one side. "Was I really gone all that long? He must be tired." he said to himself before just shrugging it off and continuing packing up his things, trying not to make too much noise so as not to wake Zim up.

Snoring a bit in his sleep, Zim soon found himself rolling over and stretching out a bit. "Mmm...Dib..." he mumbled, obviously dreaming about the human as a hybrid living with him. Smiling in his sleep now that they were happy and together, Zim's fingers twitched slightly as his good dream suddenly began to head downhill.

In his dream, he saw the Tallest again, this time angry about what he had done to Dib. They closed in on Earth, aiming the cannon sweep on it to wipe out the planet as Zim was dragged away and imprisoned, forced to watch as they killed Dib and destroyed the Earth. "Mmm...Ehh..." he began to toss and turn, snapping fully awake when he suddenly fell off the edge of the bed. "AHH!" he screamed, shaking and curling in on himself into a tight ball.

Jumping at the sound of the sudden thud from Zim falling off the bed and scream that followed it, Dib quickly turned from what he was doing to face the other, eyes wide. "Z-Zim? Are you alright?" he kneeled down next to the Irken and reached out a hand to cup his cheek in.

"NOO!" Zim jerked away from the touch, eyes squeezed tightly shut as he was now shaking like a leaf, balling up even more. "Dib..." he whimpered out, sniffling as he wasn't quite over his dream yet, still thinking it was real.

Pulling back his hand suddenly at the others yelling, Dib could only stare back at Zim with wide, fearful eyes, thinking he had done something wrong. "Wh-Whatever I did, I'm sorry, okay?" he apologized, voice upset now.

Peeking an eye open slightly at the sound of Dib's voice, Zim quickly blinked it fully open at seeing the other. "D-Dib...?" he blinked both his eyes open now to look up at Dib, who sat there with a scared and worried look on his face. Tackling him to the ground in a hug, Zim was quick to apologize, knowing he had scared the other. "I'm so sorry!" he held the boy tightly, nuzzling into his stomach. "Please don't leave me..." he pleaded, afraid Dib might be mad at him now.

Wincing back at the sudden tackle, Dib merely sat there, feeling so horribly confused now. "L-Leave you? I-I never said anything about leaving you. I-I thought you were mad at me for some reason." he said, still fairly shaken by all the Irken's yelling.

Shivering against Dib's body, Zim held him even tighter for a few more moments. "I'm not mad..." he said before pulling back to shake his head, blushing now. "S-sorry...Bad dream..." he explained to the other, not wanting to go into detail about it.

Blinking down at Zim, it took Dib a few moments to respond. "A-A bad dream? W-Well, are you okay?" he asked, reaching forward a hand a second time to cup Zim's cheek in his palm.

Sighing out gently, Zim couldn't help but close his eyes and nuzzle into the welcome relief that was Dib's hand. "I am now..." he said, seeming to relax again.

Smiling back at him, Dib gently ran his thumb up and down Zim's cheek soothingly. "I'm almost packed and ready to go if you want to leave soon." he let the other know in a soft voice.

Nodding in response to that, Zim couldn't bring himself to look up at Dib right away. "As soon as you're ready, we'll go." he agreed, just wanting to get out of there now.

Nodding his head at Zim, Dib then pulled away to finish getting packed. "Okay." he stood up, packing a few more pairs of clothes into his backpack along with his laptop and a few other things he expected he'd be needing while staying at Zim's base.

Standing up himself once Dib had pulled away, Zim then proceeded to stretch the kinks and knots out of his back and limbs as Dib seemed to finish up his packing. "Ready?" he asked, when he noticed the boy just looking about his room as though considering whether he needed anything more.

"I-I think so." Dib pulled the backpack up onto his back before giving his room one last good look over. "I-I guess I won't be back here for a while..." his sentence drifted off before his eyes snapped wide open as he remembered one last thing he wanted to pack before going. Quickly making his way over to his desk, he searched almost frantically through the papers on it before pulling out what appeared to be a really old photograph of someone.

"What's that?" Zim couldn't help but walk up behind him to peek over his shoulder curiously.

"I-It's a picture of my mom. I-I keep it with me everywhere I go...Err...O-Or at least everywhere I go that I know I won't be back from in less than 24 hours.." Dib said, holding up the picture for Zim to see better.

Nodding his head at the other, Zim turned his gaze to look at the picture of her. "She's pretty...For a human anyways...Hmm...She looks more like Gaz than you though..." he then smiled, laughing at the background of the picture. "But it looks like she had the same interests as you, huh?" he pointed at the starry backdrop of the picture.

Nodding his head slightly, Dib could only smile a bit himself. "Y-Yeah...Sh-She really liked outer space and was the one who got me interested in aliens...I-I just wish she could have been here to meet you, b-but she died when I was still really young. So I keep this picture with me because I don't want to ever forget what she looked like." he said, going to put the picture in his trench coat pocket.

Looking up at Dib sadly, Zim hesitated to speak again. "I understand...There is something like this on Irk...When someone dear to you dies...you carry their image with you until you die yourself...so that when you die, you will be together again." he explained in detail to the other.

"I-It's not so much I think I won't be with her again when I die that I carry this around. I-I just don't want to forget her is all. I already know I'll be seeing her soon enough...Err...Well, you know...I-If I decide not to go through with the change...B-Because humans don't live very long...S-So...Have you ever lost anybody you really cared a lot about?" Dib asked, looking back at Zim.

Zim could only shake his head slowly. "No...Zim does not bond well with others..." he admitted, looking away.

"B-But what about your leaders? Th-The one you nearly slept with, I mean...Y-You seemed to get along pretty well with him." Dib pointed out, curious as to what their relationship was like now.

"My Tallests are an exception...They are my leaders. I have to care about them." Zim quickly threw out, not wanting to be proved wrong.

"B-But what about before they were your leaders? D-Didn't you have feelings for them before then?" Dib asked, knowing the relationship had taken place before they had taken over.

Shaking his head slowly, Zim dropped his gaze to the ground. "Not really...They were attractive...They were a lot taller than me, after all. But like I said...I have difficulty bonding..." he said, his antennae drooping.

"O-Oh...W-Well then, I-I guess you must have done something right when you were still seeing that purple-eyed one b-because it seemed to me like he may have still had feelings for you..." Dib looked away himself.

Eyes growing wide, Zim could only blush at that observation. "He does...I was the one who broke it off..." he said before turning to face the door. "Can we just go now? I don't really want to talk about this right now..." he said, just wanting to drop the subject altogether.

Tensing up at those words, Dib couldn't help but blush as he hadn't meant to upset Zim. "O-Oh...Sorry..." he pulled out the picture of his mother to hold close to his chest, staring down at the ground awkwardly now as he followed Zim out of the room, all the while remaining completely silent so as not to say anything else stupid that might upset the Irken.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Not much to say about this chapter except that we hope you all enjoyed. =3 And for the record, school be starting soon for me. I assume keeping up with updates will be pretty easy this semester, but still. Bare with me the days I'm late on updating this. I have no idea how much work my teachers will be assigning me, but I have a pretty light load. So I'm hoping this semester will be easier than last semester. Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To kaoru1174: Lol. Well, an Irken Dib really WOULD be awesome, but you'll see how all that works out a little later in the story. And, yesh. The titles for my stories, no matter who I'm writing them with, always come out random on some level. And this last one was perhaps the randomest of them all. But anyways, glad to hear you're still enjoying the story, and we certainly will keep up the good work. =3 So until next time.

To Invader Ang: Yayz! *Dances* You have to know we really love hearing from you guys. And every review helps us to keep up with writing this story. So hopefully you'll continue to read and , yes. Dib is indeed very cute in this story and stutters throughout it. Thank you for being one of the few people who DOESN'T complain about that. And poor Dibbles is VERY easily embarrassed in this story. That would be his OOCness shining through. XD As for the meaning behind our title, I'll let Notgonnadie explain it this time since I'm too lazy to type it all out again. XD (NGD: It's called ZADR Orange because Pat's old DA screen name was orangechidna, and her new one is ZADRfan1. That's where the name came from. That, and it CONTAINS ZADR. Plus, until I decided to call her Pat, I always called her Orange, and seeing as we didn't have a name for the story yet, I labeled the RP after her and the subject. XD We didn't feel like changing it later cause I had already made images for the story, so the name stuck. XD) Well, hope that explains it for you. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD Really? I wasn't aware there was another Irken-hybrid Dib story out there. XD But I'm glad to hear you're enjoying where we're taking it from here. =3 As for your weekly question, I'm going to allow Notgonnadie to answer it this week since it's more directed towards her character in the story. =3 (NGD: YES! Zim has a thing for eet! 8D) Lol. Just one of Zim's many fetishes in this story. XD So you have much to look forward to in that department. Anyways, thanks for reviewing yet again. We always love hearing from you. =3 And much love to you for acknowledging Notgonnadie as the co-writer on this. So many people give me all the credit for it and I really hate that. Because I NEVER could have written something as great as this without her. So thanks again. You're the best! *Hugs*

To ClockwerkOrange: Like I've told you people a million times, the sex doesn't come until Chapter 34. So quit asking! And quit making fun of Dib. I already mention at the beginning of the story that Dib is very OOC. If you don't like that then don't read it. And if you don't like ZADR, I don't see WHY in the world you'd be reading a story with ZADR in the title. I can understand reading it for the TAGR in it, but if that's the only reason you're reading it, then you'll just have to be patient and wait for it like everybody else. Tak doesn't even come into the story until around Chapter 30 or so. And the actual first TAGR scene doesn't take place until Chapter 37. So unless you can wait that long, I would suggest not reading the story. At least, not if you can't think of something nice to say rather than complaining about how we characterize Zim and Dib in it. As for our weekly trade, here be yet again another new chapter. Whether that cancels out your heroin or not is up to you. Have a nice day. =3

To Casykirby: Lol. Well, we're glad to hear you enjoyed it so much. =3 As for what happens to Dib, you'll see soon enough how all this plays out. And, yes. We do indeed keep you people guessing quite a lot throughout this story. It jumps around so much, even WE can't keep up with it sometimes. XD You just can never know what to expect next. XD Anyways, until next time. We hope to hear from you again soon. =3

To 1337kitsune: Lol. Oh, yes. You have the advantage of not getting overloaded by reading the story here on fanfiction. On DA, it's just all too much to take in at once. So don't take fanfiction for granted. There's a reason I'm posting it here weekly. But anyways, think whatever you'd like to think so far as the title goes. If it makes sense to you the way you think of it, then it's all good. The OOCness is kind of on purpose though for this story. I know for a fact that both of us could have written a more in character version of this story. But then they probably wouldn't have come out as cute. So we'll keep them OOC for this story. X3 Doesn't really matter at this point. We still have just as many readers as an in character story would have. So we really appreciate you readers who can see in our warning that they're out of character but still take the time to read it. X3 So thanks again for being such an awesome reader and reviewer! *Hug* You're awesome! =3


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Well, you guys. This be my last day of summer before school starts. I wouldn't worry too much about updates being late seeing as how on Mondays I only have one class and it's only from about 2:00 in the afternoon to 5:00. So homework shouldn't be an issue. I can do homework for Monday's class over the weekend. However, my internet access may still be just a little bit limited, but oh well. I guess I'll just have to live with getting you guys late night updates. But despite that, I'm still technically getting this updated on time. Anyways, for those of you who have been waiting oh so patiently for Chapter 14 of ZADR Orange, here be your next update. Lots of love to those of you who have faved or added the story to your story alert list. Remember that feedback is much appreciated. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Leading Dib back to the base, confused as to why it was so quiet but figuring Dib was just being sentimental about something, Zim merely let the others silence slide. "Well, here we are...Uhh...Should I have the computer make you a room? Or would you like to bunk with me?" he asked, looking at Dib questioningly.

Dib finally looked up at Zim at the question. "Ummm...Wh-Whatever you're more comfortable with..." he then looked away to the ground again.

Zim could only look at Dib confused. "Okay...What's wrong now?" he looked worried.

Dib took a few steps back away from the other. "Nothing..." he lied.

Zim was really lost now. "Wh-What's wrong?" he asked again, reaching out a little for Dib but pulling back at the last minute, sighing and turning towards the house to walk inside, head down. "You can have my room..." he said in a low voice.

Dib took a few more steps away from the door. "M-Maybe I should leave..." he felt uncomfortable now that he was at Zim's base.

"What? NO!" Zim grabbed Dib's arm. "Don't leave me!...Please...Please, tell me what's wrong..." Zim begged the other not to go.

"I just...I just don't feel like you're comfortable with me being here..." Dib finally came out and said it.

"Wh-What do you mean? Of course I'm comfortable with you here...Don't you want to stay?" Zim sent Dib a dejected look.

"But I keep on overstepping my boundaries and upsetting you!" Dib argued back in an upset voice now.

"No! Noooo..." Zim pulled Dib close. "Is that what you think? Nooo..." he kissed Dib, wrapping his arms around him. "Come on. Let's just go inside, and I'll get us something to eat...Or, if you want, we could go out for a meal. You pick." he said, just wanting the other to feel at home.

Hiding his face in Zim's chest, however, Dib was still fairly upset. "I'm not very hungry..." his voice came out low now.

Petting Dib's hair gently, Zim could only sigh at those words. "Come on, Dib." he walked inside with him. "You've had a rough day...Let's just get some sleep." he said, his own voice tired now.

Allowing Zim to lead him inside, Dib continued to cling to the Irken as he all the while looked about the place, the pile of debris from the other day still there.

Shivering, remembering what happened, Zim pulled closer to Dib. "I'd be dead if it weren't for you..." his voice came out in a whisper.

Tensing at Zim's words, Dib merely nodded his head slightly as he stared at the pile with wide, somewhat fearful eyes. He never wanted to walk in on such a situation again. Finally managing to look away after a moment, he hid his face away in the Irken's chest, the memory still sending shivers up and down his spine. "I almost didn't come that night...You could have died, and it would have been all my fault..." he breathed in shakily.

Holding close to Dib, Zim walked them into the lift to go to his room. "No, it would have been my fault...Not yours...NEVER think it was your fault." he squeezed the other tightly for a few seconds before loosening his grip.

"B-But you only ended up in that situation because you were waiting for me! And I didn't come right away, so you got hurt in the end!" he exclaimed once again in an upset tone.

Sighing, Zim rested his head on Dib's shoulder as they went down in the lift. "Please stop blaming yourself, Dib. You know I'm accident prone..." he didn't want to hear Dib blaming himself.

About to argue back, Dib stopped himself before he could and fell silent, not wanting to say something stupid again. Then, returning his face to Zim's neck, he hid there in the crook of the Irken's neck the rest of the way down.

Sighing again, knowing he needed to have a long talk with Dib but too tired to do so now, Zim decided to do it later. "We will talk more tomorrow, Dib..." he kissed his cheek. "I promise. I'm just...so tired..." he said as the lift opened, allowing him to walk out, leading Dib towards his room where he had a large, comfortable bed.

Hesitantly following Zim out of the elevator and over towards the bed, Dib looked about the room as the Irken sat him down on the covers.

Snuggling up next to Dib and pulling the covers over the two of them, Zim clapped his hands to dim the lights and curled up with his arms wrapped around Dib. "Good night..." he said, already half asleep at this point.

"Night..." Dib sunk down under the covers a bit, turning onto his side to cling to Zim's shirt tightly, trying to ignore all the wires hanging down from the ceiling and strange shadows being cast across the walls.

Falling asleep soon after, Zim clutched Dib for protection and comfort, seeming to remain nightmare-free for it.

Tugging the covers even more over them to hide under, Dib, however, was unable to bring himself to fall asleep right away, just staring at the picture of his mother that he had brought with him, hoping it would help calm his nerves enough to get some sleep soon.

Curling up more next to Dib, Zim snored lightly, comfortable and calm in his own bed with Dib beside him.

After several hours of just staring at the picture of his mother, Dib finally gave up on sleeping as he merely located Zim's chest to nuzzle his face into, closing his eyes but otherwise not sleeping.

Mumbling something in his sleep and cuddling up more to Dib, Zim tried to make as much of himself touch Dib as possible. "...Dib..." he smiled a little before continuing his light snoring contently.

Peeking his eyes open at the mention of his name, Dib lifted his head up to look at the sleeping Irken, blinking at him before scooting in closer to rest his forehead against Zim's gently, closing his eyes again and just listening to the Irken's gentle breathing.

Purring in his sleep, Zim blushed a little.

Peeking his eyes partway open before blinking them closed again, Dib finally felt himself drift off to sleep.

The next morning, Zim was the first one to show signs of waking up as he slowly began to come to, not wanting to move. "Mmm...Too warm..." he complained, forgetting why it was so warm in the first place until he ended up groping Dib. "Dib?" he smiled, surprised but glad to see the other was still there.

Having only fallen to sleep a few hours earlier, Dib remained fast asleep even with all the moving around.

Purring a bit, Zim smiled, petting his hair back gently. 'Finally getting some sleep?' he thought before yawning. 'I guess I could sleep for a little longer too...' he cuddled back up to Dib.

Remaining fast asleep for at least a few more hours, Dib finally let out a small whine when he realized he couldn't move one of his arms, which Zim was practically curled around at this point and clutching tightly. Blinking his eyes slightly open after a few moments, he stared over at the sleeping Irken before letting out a loud yawn and closing his eyes again, just letting them rest for the time being.

"Mmm..." Zim finally couldn't sleep any longer as he started to stretch, eyes opening a tiny crack.

Shifting his eyes slightly open again at all the movement, Dib brought up his free arm to rub up under his glasses at one of his eyes and let out another yawn before attempting to sit up slowly just to find that Zim had finally let go of his arm. "Mmm..." he looked about the room, still half asleep and disoriented. "Where's the bathroom...?" he asked before flopping back down onto his back when the act of sitting up became too tiresome for him in that moment.

Having also sat up, Zim worked to stretch the kinks out of his back and arms. "Over..." he yawned. "Over there, Dib..." he pointed to a door over to the side of the room.

"Never...Nevermind..." Dib yawned also. "Too tired to pee..." he turned over onto his side and hugged a nearby pillow to himself, hiding his face in it comfortably.

Confused now by that statement, Zim looked back at Dib worried. "Are you okay?" he asked.

But Dib didn't hear him as he had already for the most part drifted back off to sleep. "Mmmmm..."

Sighing to himself, Zim smiled slightly, running a hand through Dib's hair. "Good night, Dib." he wrapped himself around the human and snuggled up close to him before dozing back off a little himself.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Next chapter should be up sometime next week. So look forward to Chapter 15. =3 Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To Invader Ang: Lol. XD Indeed, that DOES pretty much summarize the last chapter. I think it was more cute than hot though. XD But anyways, yesh! Stuttery Dib is full of love. However, despite what you may think, I can assure you that Dib IS the uke in this particular story. Personally, I can see him as both seme and uke, but as you'll see soon enough, he's 100 percent uke in this. Zim IS very clingy in this to Dib, but he's also the one pushing Dib into having sex with him in this story. At this point in the story, however, Dib is still too shy. Anyways, thanks again for reviewing. And no problem. I'm usually always willing to answer your people's questions. =3 And yes, random is good. XD

To Illisandria Carthain: Much thanks to you for the compliment. =3 We really appreciate it. As for the Irken hybrid Dib thing, I'm glad we were able to at least reserve some element of surprise in the way we wrote this. And the surprises don't end here. We have much more to go in this story. As for your weekly question, you kind of ruin one of the bigger surprises in this story by asking that. XD But yes, that would be where we're taking this story. Honestly, it's the one chapter I worry about losing readers at. But until then, it won't come until Chapter 39. So hopefully that knowledge won't scare you away from our story in the long run. I already know it will scare away at least a few people. But we're writing this story for our own amusement, so people will just have to deal with it. Either deal with it or stop reading, whichever you'd rather do. We don't make people continue reading this if they don't want to. Once again, I'm always happy to answer any questions you readers may have. We thank you muchly for the cookies and hope you continue enjoying this story despite where it be heading. XD

To Chaos of the asylum: Lol. XD Alright then. Feel free to note me on DA if you ever feel like responding to any of the reviews on here. =3 I'll be sure to post it with the chapter when I answer people's reviews and let them know it's you talking to them. =3

To Meta-Knight-1-fan: Yesh! An Irken Dib is indeed very sexy and cute. ^.^ Glad to hear you're enjoying the storyline so much. There's still much more to be written for this story however. We've only just begun. So be sure to keep your eyes open for future chapters. =3 And fear not, Zim knows what he's doing. Hope to hear from you again soon. =3 And don't worry, we're not giving up on this story any time soon. =3

To ClockwerkOrange: Alright. Good. Hopefully it will be worth the wait for you. And hopefully you'll pull out at least a little bit more enjoyment from this story OTHER than from just the future TAGRness in this story. As for Dib, he comes out of this story with a lot of psychological problems, but that's just something you all have to deal with. The only time he doesn't really stutter in this story is when he's angry or arguing with somebody about something, usually Tak. She has a tendency to pick on him a lot. Though most of the characters do in this story. Here be the next chapter to yet again unbalance our trade. Can't wait to see what you come up with next to balance it out again. XD And once again, for the last time, no sex until Chapter 35. This is at least my second time telling you if not third. So please stop asking and take the time to read through this response thoroughly. I will not repeat this a third/fourth time for you seeing as how I've answered this question plenty of times already for you. With that said, have another nice day. =3

To 1337kitsune: Err...Well, if that's how you see it. XD Really, I just respond to you people in the order I recieve the comments. You were the last person to comment on Chapter 13, so I responded to you last. It didn't really have anything to do with saying goodbye. But anyways, glad to hear you enjoyed Chapter 13 so much. We certainly enjoyed writing it. But then again, we usually enjoy writing any scene in this story. It's such a blast to write. =3 Like I said before, I assume you enjoy reading it here more because you don't get an overload of information all at once. And, yes. They do stutter and blush quite a bit in this story. But trust me, Dib is the only love-struck teen in this. XD Zim is MUCH older than Dib in this story, even if he doesn't act like it. XD Anyways, get yourself some food. Get yourself some sleep. And I'll talk to you next time. =3

To Casykirby: Haha! Thanks. X3 Really? That's awesome. We're quite flattered you find this story that interesting that it'd be the only story you're reading. That being the case, here be another chapter for you to read. We sincerely hope you enjoy and continue to enjoy as we update this each and every week. So until next time. =3


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Alright. Sorry I'm a day late on getting this next chapter up, you guys. But I had to go pick my mom up from the airport last night and was too tired when I got home to update. So here be Chapter 15 of ZADR Orange now for those of you who have been waiting oh so patiently. Much love to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert list. And remember, feedback is much appreciated. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Computer: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

A couple of hours passed, one right after the other, until finally Dib started to show the first signs of waking back up though this time for good.

"Mmm...Zim?" he murmured before blinking his eyes open to look around the room.

To his surprise, said Irken was nowhere to be found. He had gone upstairs while Dib was sleeping but hadn't made it back before he woke up.

So, sitting up in bed slowly when he realized Zim wasn't in the bed with him, Dib looked about the room confusedly. "Zim?" he asked again, unsure whether he should get up and look for the other or stay put. Squeezing his legs together somewhat uncomfortably, he squirmed about in the covers a bit as the urge to pee hit him all over again, reminding him that he had needed to go the last time he had woken up.

Zim, meanwhile, was up in the kitchen, cooking as fast as his equipment would allow him. He was making quite the mess but wanted to get it all done before Dib woke up. Little did he know, however, that said human already had.

Back down in the bedroom, Dib couldn't help but bounce slightly in his spot in the bed, looking back and forth between the covers and the elevator that he and Zim had taken down there.

"Almost done." Zim panted out as he set several different kinds of breakfast foods out on the table.

"Maybe I should just..." Dib looked back and forth between the covers and elevator one last time before standing up from the bed to head over towards the elevator, anxious to find Zim and then the bathroom. But just as he was nearing it, he heard it activating, beginning its descent back down to the room.

Bouncing up and down excitedly, Zim was eager to wake Dib up now and show him the meal he had worked so very hard on for him. Stopping his bouncing just as the lift stopped and doors opened into the bedroom, he was, to say the very least, surprised to see Dib standing right outside them. "Dib? Y-You're already awake." he said somewhat flustered, feeling a bit embarrassed now.

Taking a few steps back, Dib could only blink at the other before resuming his earlier bouncing. "Uhm...Yeah...Y-You wouldn't happen to have a bathroom somewhere in this base, would you?" he sounded a bit rushed as he asked the other his question.

Letting out a short laugh, Zim merely pointed down the hall from where they stood. "The last door on the right." he said so Dib wouldn't get lost looking for it.

"Okay! Thanks!" Dib didn't even wait around for Zim to say anything more about where he had been as he merely made a mad dash for the bathroom, sighing out in some relief when he found it.

Sighing to himself, shaking his head and chuckling, Zim could only smile in amusement at the boy's urgency before turning to head back for the elevator. "When you're finished, meet me upstairs!" he called back to the other, deciding to give his human some privacy.

Hearing Zim's words, Dib finished up quickly, washing his hands in some gel like substance before heading back out into the room and over to the elevator, jumping slightly when it automatically opened its doors to him and started up of its own accord to bring him up to the house level of the base.

"Well good morning, Dib." Zim greeted him, smiling warmly before rushing over to meet Dib at the lift. "I hope you're hungry." he smiled wide at the other.

Taking a few steps back as Zim rushed towards him, Dib could only drop his gaze to his fingers as he nervously played with them, a small blush gracing his face. "I...Uhm..." he began before falling silent and merely nodding his head slowly. "Sorry...About last night..." he apologized for the way he had reacted when they first reached the base.

Stopping in his tracks, Zim seemed to blush also at his words. "No, I'm sorry." he said before taking hold of Dib's arm. "Come on. Forget about last night. Let's just eat." he smiled again at Dib.

Blushing even more at the small smile, Dib nodded his head slowly and allowed Zim to lead him towards the kitchen table to take a seat.

The table was buried under all kinds of breakfast foods for Dib. Bacon, eggs, pancakes, waffles, toast, cereal, and basically anything else Zim could think of to make him. "I-I wanted your first day here to be special..." he explained, hoping the small gesture would make Dib feel more at home.

Staring wide-eyed at all the food piled up on the table, Dib shifted his gaze over to Zim after a moment. "Wow...This is amazing, Zim! But...You didn't have to do all of this for me..." he said, feeling as though the Irken may have gone a little overboard.

Waving Dib's words off with a hand, Zim merely insisted it was no trouble at all. "Nonsense! Of course I did." he said before leaning in to kiss Dib. "Now, how about you eat some of it?" he smirked at the other, his eyes falling half lidded.

Blushing at the small kiss, Dib could only bring his fingers up to lightly brush across his cheek where Zim had just kissed him. "A-Alright...B-But I'm not so sure I can eat ALL of this..." he said, looking back at the multitude of food.

Blushing a bit himself, embarrassed by Dib's words, Zim looked back to the pile of food himself. "Uh...Sorry about that...I wasn't sure what you'd like the best. B-But don't worry! I'll help, and then we can just save the rest for later!" he said, nodding to himself assuredly.

"Th-Then I guess I better start with the things I'm pretty sure you CAN'T eat." he said before reaching forward to take a piece of bacon so he could take a bite out of it, somewhat surprised at how good it tasted considering Zim didn't like meat and probably didn't make it too often. "Wow...This is really good, Zim." he smiled at the other.

Smiling back happily, a blush gracing his face, Zim seemed more than pleased with the compliment he had just received. "Thanks. I-It was my first time making meat...I didn't think it came out right." he said before taking his own seat so he could take some of the waffles for himself.

"Well, for your first time, it came out really good." Dib said as he finished his piece of bacon before reaching forward to take another piece along with some eggs.

Grinning to himself, Zim then proceeded to take a large bite of his waffles. "So...After breakfast, we should design your disguise, correct? Or would you rather do something else?" he asked, swallowing down his food before taking a few more bites.

"D-Designing my disguise sounds fine to me..." Dib looked up from his own food to smile back at Zim.

Nodding his head in agreement, Zim took yet another large bite of his waffles. "It's kind of nice around here, what with Gir being gone." he commented, enjoying the peaceful breakfast they were having now.

Looking around, just then seeming to notice that Gir was indeed gone, Dib dropped his gaze back down to his food, picking at it with his fork a bit. "Oh yeah...Where'd he go anyways? I was wondering why it was so quiet in here..." his own voice came out in a whisper as though afraid to break the silence himself.

Smiling at Dib's quietness, Zim began playing with his own food idly. "He went to some taco fest a few hours away from here. He'll probably be back sometime tomorrow. It's an all night thing." he explained, his mind wandering to all the things they could do while alone.

"Oh...Okay then..." Dib returned to eating some more of his food, the thoughts Zim was having the farthest thoughts in his own mind. Finishing his eggs quickly, he then grabbed himself a bowl of cereal and a few of his own waffles to go with it.

Zim, meanwhile, sat patiently in his seat as he watched Dib eat contently, having already eaten his own fill.

Managing to finish up his cereal and about half a waffle, Dib finally pushed his plate away, deciding then that he was now far too full to eat even another bite.

Smiling when he noticed Dib had stopped eating, Zim reached out as though to take his plate for him. "All done then, Dib-love?" the nickname just seemed to roll off the tip of his tongue.

Blushing at the new nickname, Dib stared down at the table with wide eyes before nodding his head slightly. "Yeah...It was really good...Thank you..." he thanked the other before glancing up at him shyly.

Grinning to himself yet again, Zim then reached out to take Dib's hand. "Then let's go dress you up." he said, tugging on his arm so he would follow him.

Nodding his head again, Dib stood up from his chair and followed Zim out into the living room, not exactly sure what to expect.

Leading Dib over to right in front of the TV, Zim lifted his gaze to the ceiling. "Computer!" he yelled in order to get its attention.

"Whaaat?" the monotonous voice of Zim's computer came out in a groan.

"Bring me the disguise maker!" Zim ordered, waiting with Dib until the computer brought it to him.

Huffing out a sigh, the computer merely gave in with a, "Fiiine..." before bringing up the disguise maker for Zim, Dib merely standing back and watching as Zim began pressing a few buttons on it.

"Okay, so...What do you want to look like?" he addressed Dib as he pulled a tablet pen out of the side of the machine. "We're keeping your hair, of course. But what do you want your other features to look like?" he asked, awaiting a response from Dib.

"U-Uhm...W-Well, I guess I wouldn't mind having antennae for starters...I-I could always just tuck them back into my hair whenever I needed to..." he began his list with the first thing that popped into his mind.

Nodding his head at that, Zim turned to draw in the standard male antennae on the screen. "I kind of like your current eye color...But you can change it if you want." he said with a small shrug.

Blinking at Zim, Dib merely shook his head. "No, it's okay...I'll keep my eye color. It's the one thing about me that doesn't resemble my dad." he said, not wanting to give up the one feature he had inherited from his mother.

Smiling at that answer, Zim nodded. "Okay...Keep the eye color." he mumbled to himself as he scribbled even more on the screen. "Any certain clothes you want?" he asked, glancing back at Dib.

"Ummm...Maybe something in different shades of blue and black?" he said somewhat unsure.

Nodding his head some more, Zim couldn't help but grin as he scribbled even more onto the screen, obviously happy with the design they were creating. "Anything else special you'd like to add? I already took away your need for glasses." he informed the other, eager now to see what Dib would look like in his new disguise.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. And look! They be finally designing Dib's human/Irken hybrid disguise! 8D. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up on time next week So look forward to Chapter 1. =3 Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To Invader Ang: Sorry to burst your bubble, but Dib is 100 percent uke in this. He just would NOT work as the seme in this story. Up until a certain point, which is still very far away, he doesn't even WANT to have sex. So I'm afraid you'll just have to live with it. Live with it or stop reading the story. The choice is up to you. As for your random question, yes, ZADR is my favorite pairing, not to say I don't like other pairings as well. In fact, I love most all pairings in the IZ universe. And as for my favorite color, I'm partial to rainbows actually. They make me smile. 8D Plus, I'm just gay like that. XD Those would be my answers. I'm afraid I didn't get an answer from Notgonnadie yet though. You may want to try asking her yourself. You could send her a personal message on her account here. Her FF username is Chaos of the asylum. Sorry I couldn't get an answer from her for you myself. Asking her just kind of slipped my mind this past week, and she's not online at the moment to give me her answer. But since I'm already late getting this chapter posted, I don't want to delay it any longer. So sorry once again. I'll try to stay on top of that next time. And we hope you continue to enjoy this story nonetheless. =3

To Invader Blunt: Ah, hello. =3 So nice to meet new reviewers. Thank you for taking the time to write one. But anyways, yes, I admit the title can be a little deceiving. But there's much more to this story than most people realize. And to be perfectly honest, we're far from done with even writing it. To tell you the truth, we've hardly even made a dent in this story. It's so massive, with so many different plot twists throughout, that we can't even keep track of this story half the time. XD So we hope to keep you as a reader throughout as we progress through this story, possibly one of the longest stories you'll ever read should you decide to continue. =3 We'll be sure to keep up the good work, and we hope to hear back from you soon as we value all our readers. =3 Thanks again for the wonderful review. And WOOT! 10 out of 10 rubber piggys! 8D

To ClockwerkOrange: That's better...I think...And yayz for kittens! 8D My one fatal weakness. (Huggles kittens close) So cute. ^.^ (Gets swarmed by them) Oh, no...Oh no! Nuuuuuu! They're clawing my internal organs! Might want to make that next on your list of trades. XD Cause here be Chapter 15 for you. Thanks once again for the review. And, yes. Dib is psychologically unstable in this story. But we still love him despite that. Anyways, you already know I'm not answering that last question, so have a nice day. ^_^

To kaoru1174: Oh, yayz! You came back! 8D I was wondering where you were last week. XD But anyways, I totally understand and know how you feel. School just started back up for me last week as well. And already I'm required to perform 6 hours per week worth of writing for just one of my classes. So I can understand how that can be time consuming. But school aside, we hope you'll be able to find more time soon for reading our story. And I agree. Teh last chapter tis cute. ^.^ Though, if I recall correctly, I hated the way it came out when I rewrote it for this story. X'D Oh well. Glad to hear you at least enjoyed it. =3 And we hope you enjoy this new chapter as well. =3

To Casykirby: Yes, Dib does indeed stutter a lot in this, but it's cute. =3 We're glad you're enjoying it so much, and as for improvements, I'm pretty sure we both could have written this better and more in character, but then it wouldn't be as much fun to us. XD So thanks for taking the time to review our OOCness. XD (Hugs)

To snickers-03: Aw, well thank you. =3 We really appreciate the review and are glad to hear you're enjoying our RPing so much. =3 Hope you continue to read and review. So until next time. ^3^

To 1337kitsune: I'm glad I didn't review last night now. Otherwise I think I would have missed your review. You got it in just on time this week. =3 But anyways, yes, some chapters may seem short at times. Though I try to keep them all relatively the same length. Not too long, not too short. Doing either of those two things would be the flaw in some of my other stories. And, yes. It's such a hassle to get up in the morning to use the bathroom, especially if your bed is warm and the rest of the house is cold. At least I don't have to get up early for school. Unfortunately, I can't homeschool either though. I'm already in college, so it's just not an option. I'm too busy working towards graduation at the moment. Damn it for being so far away still. TT_TT Four years is NOT enough time to earn a degree in ANY field nowadays. (Sigh) Oh well. At least I'm doing what I love. And getting reviews from you guys always pushes me to try and write better works. So we're glad you enjoyed the last chapter so much. =3 Zim's mentality kind of changes throughout the story. One second he's thinking more like a 5 year old then the next he's thinking more his age. XD Dib's more consistant though. Well, here's Chapter 15 for you then. And we're glad to hear that. 8D Welcome to the group. We promise, we'll try to keep you hooked on this story as long as we possibly can. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Just like I told 1337kitsune, you got your review in just in time for this chapter. =3 Lol. We're glad you managed to find us over on DA too. 8D Few people ever actually take the time to look there. And I assume you also found out the secret of this story. XD But anyways, we're glad you'll continue to read it here as well. There's actually an advantage to reading here. Over on DA you might get overloaded. But anyways, I also assume I've talked to you on DA already, though I can't be 100 percent sure. I want to say that I have, but honestly, I can't put you to a profile I know on DA. So I guess I'll just have to ask you what your username is since there's more than one possiblity, and I DON'T think you're using your FF username there. =3 Please tell me if you have made contact with me there. =3 And as for your weekly question, I'm afraid that's an unanswerable question at this time. :iconNotgonnadie: and I haven't even finished writing the story yet, so coming to a conclusion about how many chapters it will be would be impossible. I assume this story will reach well over 100 chapters. In fact, the more we write, the more I think we may even reach 200 hundred or more. But then again, I'm really horrible at estimates. It will be quite long though. I can guarantee that. So far I've ficafied about 65 chapters for this story, and that's still fairly close to the beginning of it. We're so much farther along in the RP than what we have posted up to, it's hard to even imagine how many chapters we'll have in the end. So just assume a lot will be posted for this story. I'm actually a little surprised you haven't read a seme Dib ZADR fic yet. There ARE actually a lot of them out there. I just prefer him as the uke. But I've written a few seme Dib fics as well as a few where Zim and Dib take turns. In DATR I rarely see Dib as uke, but only because of the obvious gender differences. I COULD see Tak being a dominant in such a situation though. The hard one is TAGR though. Deciding who's tops in that relationship can be difficult. They both seem like such dominant characters. Lol. But enough of my rambling. Thanks again for reviewing, and much love to you for television. =3 I'll watch my IZ DVD's on it! 8D

(Damn, it took me a long time to respond to you guys this week. XD Almost three hours)


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: All right! It's Labor Day weekend which means I have no excuse for getting this chapter up late. So I better update before I forget and have a bunch of angry reviewers swarming me with weapons of various kinds. XD For those of you waiting to read Chapter 16 of ZADR Orange, here it be! 8D You all must be getting tired of hearing me say this, but really, we really do appreciate those of you who take the time click that fave button or add this story to your story alert list. And we especially love getting the reviews. So much love to you all. Your feedback is very much appreciated. 83

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Gaz: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Dib wasn't sure how to respond. As it seemed to him, Zim had already thought up everything to put into the disguise. So blushing a bit at the other's question, Dib merely shook his head slowly. "Well...Uhm...No. I think I'm good for now...U-Unless there was something you wanted to add! Y-You could go ahead if you wanted to...j-just to see if I'd like it or not..." he threw in quickly, deciding Zim had every right to make changes of his own to it just like he had.

Seeming to think it over for a moment, Zim quickly turned back to the screen and began scribbling a little more onto it, a small smirk on his face as he did so. "There. That should do it...Now just stand on that tile, and we'll get it on you." he said, pointing to the tile he was referring to.

"Okay..." Dib agreed, walking over to stand where Zim had told him to, a little nervous that it may hurt like last time.

Giving Dib a quick peck on the cheek, Zim smiled at him reassuringly before standing back to pull the lever so he could initiate the disguising process.

Wincing back instinctively, expecting to feel much more pain than he originally had the first time he had used this machine, Dib was surprised when he only felt a minimum amount this time around.

The device coming to a stop, Zim couldn't help but grin wide as Dib slowly stepped out of it. "Now THAT is a good disguise!" he claimed as he wrapped his arms around Dib happily.

"R-Really? W-Well, what do I look like? Can I see a mirror? A-And what exactly did you add to my disguise before making it?" Dib seemed to ask all at once.

Smiling mischieviously to himself, Zim seemed to hesitate to tell the other the details of his changes. "Oh...Just a few things..." he replied before pulling up a tall, full body mirror from the floor. "Have a look." he insisted that the other see for himself as he stepped back to let Dib look himself over.

He still had his original scythe hair style only with two antennae now sticking up out of it, making it seem as though he had two extra scythe locks. And his eyes were the same caramel brown as before except as pupil less Irken eyes now. And, as requested, he was decked out in new clothes, wearing a dark blue standard issue invader shirt and some baggy, unofficial black pants with steel-toed black boots while Zim's visible additions just happened to be another trench coat with the sleeves rolled up and a fingerless pair of gloves. He even had a PAK with blue panels instead of pink.

Giving himself a good look over, turning this way and that to get a clear idea of what he looked like, Dib couldn't help but stare at his reflection in some shock. "Wow...So this is what you can make me look like permanently if I decide to go through with the change?" he asked, looking back at Zim.

Nodding his head and grinning, Zim couldn't help but feel rather giddy about the prospect of Dib agreeing to change his appearance to this one they had created. "Just about. The clothes wouldn't come with it though." he chuckled a bit.

Looking down at the clothes again, Dib tilted his head to one side and then the other. "That's alright. I could always make them myself or buy them at a store somewhere." he nodded assuredly to himself.

"True." Zim agreed before sneaking up behind the human and wrapping his arms around him. "So... Do you like it?" he whispered, almost seductively into Dib's ear.

Blushing at Zim's sudden closeness, Dib could only try to shift his gaze away from the alien behind him. "Y-Yeah...Do YOU?" he then turned the question back on Zim.

Grinning at that, Zim happily flicked at Dib's hair. "Zim is pleased..." he said before nuzzling closer to Dib, a small purr escaping him.

Blush deepening as he felt the Irken beginning to play with his hair a bit, Dib almost instantly dropped his gaze down to his feet. "I-Is my hair really all that amusing to you?" he asked, fairly intrigued by Zim's particular reaction to it at the moment.

Continuing his purring, Zim nodded. "Yessss...I have never seen any other species with such a thing. They either have fur or skin but never a giant puffball on their heads." he laughed, flicking at it some more.

Blush only continuing to grow worse at those words, Dib could only pout a bit at the way Zim was playing around with his hair. "Yeah...Well, I've never seen any other species with antennae before, but you don't see me poking at your antennae all the time." he said before looking up at Zim's antennae, blinking at them before hesitantly bringing a hand up to poke at one of them, just once he told himself.

Purring a little louder at the small touch, Zim merely let his eyelids slip closed. "Mmm...But I wish you would." he murmured, nuzzling into Dib's neck. "I really do...They are SO sensitive...and oh so neglected." he practically hissed into Dib's ear.

Face lighting up a bright red at those words, Dib quickly drew back his arm. "I...I, uhm..." he bowed his head but found that he couldn't take his eyes off the swaying antennae as they danced back and forth in the most tempting of ways.

Purring some more, Zim attempted to make Dib touch them again. "Come on, Dibby. Just a little pet now and then." he urged the other to touch them, twitching them close enough to brush by Dib's face.

Fingers twitching at his sides, Dib felt compelled to do just that as he slowly brought up a hand to run over the sensitive appendage a second time before pulling away quickly to look off to the side shyly.

Purring just as loud as ever, Zim rested his chin comfortably against Dib's chest. "Mmm...That wasn't so hard, was it?" his voice came out somewhat slurred as he nuzzled against Dib even more. "Oh wait..." he opened his eyes again to look up at Dib, wavering a bit as though he were drunk. "Weren't we doing something?" he seemed slightly confused about how he had gotten there.

Sending Zim his own confused look, Dib could only look about the room a bit before answering. "No...I don't think so..." he sounded somewhat concerned now with Zim's current state.

"We weren't? I could have sworn we were..." Zim shrugged. "Oh well." he returned to nuzzling Dib. "Can we sit on the couch?" he asked, as he wavered unstably again.

Tensing slightly when Zim slumped most of his weight against him, Dib could only nod his head slowly. "I-I guess..." he said before leading Zim over to the couch, taking a seat next to him once he was seated comfortably.

Snuggling up close to Dib, locating the TV remote next to him, Zim picked it up, wriggling it in front of Dib a few times before tossing it on the floor in front of him. "Now see if you can pick it up..." his words came out slurred again.

Just continuing to stare at Zim confusedly, wondering what was up with the Irken all of a sudden, Dib glanced down at the discarded TV remote then back up at Zim. "Okay..." he decided to play along, bringing up a finger to poke at one of Zim's antennae, making the alien curl in on himself for a moment, completely distracting him as Dib leaned down to pick up the remote, smiling to himself afterwords. "I win." he smiled, dangling the remote in front of Zim.

Merely curling up in Dib's lap, nuzzling into his side and purring, Zim closed his eyes as though to sleep. "Are you sure about that? It looks like I still have the prize." he smirked a bit to himself, taking complete possession of Dib's lap.

Blushing yet again at Zim's words and the fact that Zim had gotten so comfortable in his lap but intrigued by his reactions to his touching his antennae at the same time, Dib looked left and then right as though to make sure nobody could see them before leaning forward to close his mouth over one of the tips, waiting to see what Zim's reaction to that would be.

Practically melting in Dib's arms, Zim could feel his body going lax against the boy as his loud purring sounded from his chest, a drunken look on his face as he pulled himself even more into Dib. "Mmmmm...Diiiiibuuhh..." he cooed happily before making movements as if to play with Dib's own antennae. But seeing as they were holograms and therefore had no affect whatsoever on the human, Zim could only sigh, a small frown momentarily taking over his face.

Noticing Zim's frown, Dib was quick to pull his mouth away, staring down at the Irken confusedly. "I-Is something wrong, Zim?" he asked, afraid that perhaps he had hurt the other.

Reaching up to make his petting gestures again, Zim pouted when he got no reaction to it. "It doesn't affect you...It's just a hologram..." he whined, poking out his bottom lip a bit.

Lifting his eyes up to stare at the holographic antennae on his head, Dib merely blinked at them. "Well, you know, Zim. They may be just a hologram now, but in a few days, if I decide to go through with the change, they'll be real." he said before dropping his gaze back down to the Irken. "And if I do decide to go through with it, then I'll let you touch them all you want first thing." he promised, smiling warmly at the other.

Smiling back goofily, Zim could only squirm in Dib's lap a bit. "ALL I want, Dib thing? I'm not sure you could handle that." he giggled a little before hearing a loud pounding on the front door, distracting him. That's when he realized both he and Dib were exposed as aliens at the moment, causing him to panic somewhat.

"OPEN THIS DOOR, ZIM! I KNOW MY BROTHER IS IN THERE!" Gaz yelled through the door, pounding on it again.

Visibly relaxing at realizing it was just Gaz, Zim sighed out in relief before responding back to her. "The door's unlocked, stupid human!" he shouted back at her before curling around Dib more.

Tensing up at the sound of Gaz's voice on the other end of the door, Dib, however, paled to a sickly white color at Zim's words. "Zim! Are you out of your mind? My sister may very well kill you for saying that just now!" he exclaimed, knowing how his sister worked.

"What?" Zim looked back up at him, worried now.

Before Dib could respond again, Gaz bashed in the door with her foot before stalking into the room. "WHAT did you call me?" she growled, fisting her hands up by her sides.

"Meep!" Zim tried to bury himself under Dib.

Growling again, Gaz let the insult drop after a moment. "Ignoring YOU, where's my brother?" she demanded, leering over at him.

Pulling his head out from underneath Dib's shirt, Zim quickly interjected before Dib could say anything that would blow his cover. "How should I know? I'm just here with...Uhhh...my IRKEN friend! Yes!" he tried to make himself sound convincing.

Shifting his gaze nervously back and forth between Zim and Gaz, unsure whether she actually bought that considering he looked nothing like a real Irken and still had several of his human features, Dib merely sat back, remaining completely silent.

But Gaz was smarter than that as she just looked back and forth between the nervous Dib and possessive Zim. "Uh-huh...Well, when my brother decides to stop playing dress up, tell him Dad is looking for him." she said before turning away from them, as though to leave.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. And look! There be antennae touchy in this chapter! (Hurr...). And Gaz! Mustn't forget about Gaz. XD Anyways, Chapter 17 should be up sometime next week, so we hope you'll all look forward to that. =3 Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To Casykirby: Well, as I'm certain you can see in this chapter, Zim certainly does seem to like how Irken hybrid Dibbeh came out. XD ^/^ So we certainly hope you also enjoy how he came out in this chapter. Once again, thank you so much for reading and reviewing. You're awesome. X3

To Invader Ang: Yayz! Perhaps one day all us rainbow lovers will rise up and rule the world! Mwuahahahahahahahaha! (Evil laugh) XD But anyways. YES! Taco fest! I really want to go to one now. I wonder whether any exist. Hmmm...(Goes off in search of Taco Fests on the internet) Random response to your random review be very random indeed. XD Thanks for reading!

To Illisandria Carthain: Ah, so I was right. I have NOT spoken to you yet. Explains why I couldn't put you to a profile on DA. However, I did add you as a friend on there, so feel free to add me as well if you'd like to be friends. =3 I'm certain you already know who I am on there, given I don't use my FF username there either. XD And yes. Chaos of the Asylum is Notgonnadie. I'm a little surprised you didn't catch onto that earlier. XD Specially considering she's betaing your story. But anyways, she's also the beta for this story in addition to writing all of Zim's parts in it. And, yes. Her Zim is very sweet. ^.^ And often times makes me hungry. XD That preview image you see on DA was also drawn by her. She does amazing work for our story. However, we do welcome whatever fanart we can get. So if you feel so inclined, by all means, please do post your own version of Dib's disguise. =3 We'll even add it as an entry for the fanart contest we're holding right now. As for your weekly question, Red will definitely be coming back into the story eventually. But that's not really for a while still. I can't really give you an answer for that question at this point. It's just kind of one of those things you'll have to read to find out about. So until then, we hope you enjoy the read leading up to Red's reappearance and thank you kindly for the SuckMonkees. (Hug)

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Well, hello. =3 So nice to see we have another new reader. We're glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much and hope you'll continue to read and review. So thank you for taking the time to do both those things. Until next time. ^_~

To ClockwerkOrange: Thank you kindly for the fresh organs. XD Here be Chapter 16 in exchange. Now all I need is somebody to perform the surgery on me to replace the organs destroyed by those cute little kittens. ^.^ Hope this next chapter covers a surgeon in your book. XD

To Vithian: And another new reviewer! 8D Hello there. So nice of you to drop in. =3 Yes, the nicknames Zim comes up with for Dib in this story are quite amusing indeed. We're glad to hear you're enjoying this story so much. And, no. Not really. XD The title really has nothing to do with the story. The simplest explanation for it that I could give you would be this: Before Notgonnadie and I decided to post this story, Notgonnadie had made some fanart for it. However, she wasn't sure what title to give the fanart so she just named it after me. ZADR was pulled from my new username over on DA (ZADRfan1) and Orange was pulled from an old username I had over on DA (orangechidna). The name just kind of stuck for us and thus we named it ZADR Orange. XD Other readers have tried to come up with their own reasonings behind why we would name it that, but really, it has nothing to do with the story whatsoever. XD And I totally agree with you on that last statement. There really ISN'T enough RAPR love in the world. And even though Red's not the nicest character in all this, I'm happy to say we WERE able to work in a RAPR sex scene to this story. I always like having at least ONE in my ZADR stories, whether they be RPs or not. So we hope you'll stay with this story long enough to get to it. Because really, it's still a LONG ways worth the read if you can put up with all our plot twists. Thanks once again for taking the time to read and review. And we hope to talk to you again sometime soon. =3


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Meh...I'm not apologizing for updating late this week. I did that on purpose. It's getting hard to keep up with Monday updates when I'm so tired after getting home from school. I may just change it to Tuesdays from now on. We'll see. Just depends on how I feel. I don't even really feel like updating now, but I guess I will just to get it over with. Blah Blah Blah...yadda yadda yadda. You guys know the drill. Here be Chapter 17 of ZADR Orange for those of you who have been waiting. Much thanks and love to those of you who have faved or added the story to your story alert list. And remember that feedback is much appreciated. Not that I have to keep reminding you guys about that. You all already review whether I tell you that or not. Anyways, we hope you all enjoy. Ugh...Too tired to add smiley face... -_-; (This be my tired face.)

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Computer: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gaz: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Watching Gaz's back as she was about to leave, Zim quickly spoke up to catch her attention again. "About what?" he asked, wanting to know what was so important that Dib's father felt the need to send Gaz all the way over here to tell Dib.

"Well, for starters, he's missed out on at least three days of school this week, but what really caught his attention were Dib's grades on the report cards they just sent out a few days ago. Apparently, he's failing in two or three classes." Gaz said from her spot, turning her head to send Dib a pointed glare.

Knowing himself that he hadn't been doing all too well this semester due to falling asleep during classes after late nights spying on Zim, Dib paled somewhat.

"School shmool. What good will that place ever be in his life?" Zim just seemed to brush the whole thing off as though it was nothing.

Shrugging at that response, Gaz merely turned as though to leave again. "Personally, I could care less whether he does well in it or not. But it does matter to Dad whether he's doing well in it, especially since one of the classes he's failing is a science class." she said, heading for the door.

"Oh." Zim rolled his eyes, understanding now. "REAL science too, I'll bet." he sighed before snuggling more into Dib. "Tell your father Dib is taking tutoring and will have his grades up in a few days." he said just as Gaz was about to head out the door.

"Tell him yourself! I'm not your messenger!" Gaz snapped, stopping in her tracks and turning back around to glare at the two of them. "And make it snappy! I'm tired of his complaining!" she said before turning to storm back home, slamming the door shut behind her.

Dib by now had shrunk so far down in his seat that he was practically hidden behind the other.

Turning back to Dib, Zim stroked his hair soothingly. "Are you okay?" he asked, noticing how pale the other had become.

Having been spacing out on the Irken, Dib jumped slightly at his question. "U-Uhm...Y-Yeah...I guess...I-I just don't know what I'm going to tell my dad...Wh-What if he wants me to come home?" he said, knowing Zim had wanted to keep him longer than just a day.

"You look human enough. I don't think he would even notice..." Zim kissed him, obviously not catching on to what going home would mean in terms of Dib no longer being able to stay at the base. "But to be safe...COMPUTER!" he demanded his computer's attention.

Had it eyes, the computer would have rolled them. "Again with this?" it said in a rather annoyed voice.

"Hack the school's computer and change Dib's grades to all A's!" Zim just seemed to ignore the computer's tone of voice.

Sighing, the computer merely did as it was told. "Fine...I will..." it said rather listlessly.

Just blinking wide eyes at Zim's command to his computer, Dib couldn't believe what the other was suggesting. "That's cheating..." he informed the other as though the Irken didn't already know.

"So? You know all of this information already, don't you?" Zim really could care less whether it was cheating or not.

Shifting his gaze down to his fingers, Dib, out of habit, began to play with them as he usually did when he got nervous about something. "Well, yeah...I guess..." he confessed, still feeling rather uneasy about this however.

"Then there is no need to prove to these humans that you know it. What would be the point?" Zim finished off his argument for why it would be alright to do this.

"I guess..." Dib somewhat gave in, still looking rather uncomfortable with the situation.

Antennas drooping at the nervous look on Dib's face, Zim seemed to reconsider his command. "Would you rather get yelled at for it?" he asked, not wanting to feel guilty about this in the end.

"I'd rather get yelled at once than get yelled at twice for being caught cheating..." Dib admitted, looking away to the side.

"But you're not cheating! And you won't get caught for it anyways. These people are too stupid to notice." Zim tried to convince Dib that they COULD pull this off without being caught.

Knowing Zim was right but not wanting to admit it, Dib sighed. "Yeah...I guess..." he gave in yet again but this time for good.

Nuzzling Dib affectionately, Zim quickly changed the subject so as to take Dib's mind off of it. "So, what would you like to do today?" he asked although he was already comfortable in Dib's lap again.

Blushing a bit, Dib brought his gaze back to blink down at Zim again. "Uhm...Wh-Whatever you feel like doing today, I guess..." he said, not particularly interested in doing anything at the moment.

"Oh, come on! Don't put it on me! You pick! We could go to the park or take a trip to outer space. Anything!" Zim insisted that the other choose.

"Uhm...Well, it's been so long since I last did anything that didn't involve chasing after you, that I can't recall what I used to do for fun before then...But I guess a walk in the park sounds pretty nice for starters." Dib said before sending the Irken a small smile.

Grinning wide, Zim nuzzled Dib some more. "Then I shall grab my disguise." he said before hopping off of Dib to snatch up his wig and contacts from a shelf next to the wall and put them on. "Well, let's go, Dib-love." he smirked a bit, heading for the front door.

"Well, wait a second! Don't I need to take off this disguise first?" Dib stopped the other before he could open the front door.

"Of course not. You look human enough." Zim said, turning around and grinning. "Besides, you're supposed to be getting used to it, remember?" he reminded the other the whole reason for why he had even wanted to try out a disguise first.

Blushing again, Dib looked away momentarily to give it some thought. "Well, what about my eyes? Shouldn't I at least do something about them before going out?" he asked, concerned somebody might notice the alienness of them.

"Come on, Dib. There is really no need to. No one ever notices when my eyes are showing." Zim protested, pulling out his contacts. "But if it makes you feel better, I won't use the contacts..." he began to say just to be interrupted by Dib.

"No! I-I mean...I don't want you taking any chances by doing that. It would be worse if somebody caught you than it would be if somebody caught me." his voice fell down to a whisper as he dropped his gaze to the ground.

Blushing a bit at Dib's concern for him, Zim nodded. "O-Okay...But there's really nothing to worry about. No one's going to notice." he reassured the other.

"I hope so..." Dib said, standing up from his spot on the couch so he could follow Zim over to the door.

"I know so." Zim smiled, grabbing tight to Dib's arm and leading him out the door.

Peeking his head out the door to have a look around and make sure nobody was watching them, Dib at first took only a few hesitant steps outside with Zim.

"Come on, Dibby." Zim smiled even more, tightening his grip on Dib's arm. "This is what it will be like if you become a hybrid." he said, walking further out of the house and then out of the yard, pulling Dib with him.

Blushing at the nickname, Dib looked around a bit more before following closely behind Zim, remaining right by his side as he kept on high alert.

Smiling, Zim held Dib's hand tightly as the two of them walked to the park arm in arm, no one seeming to notice or really CARE about how inhuman the two looked.

Beginning to relax somewhat after a while of walking, Dib slowly began to enjoy his walk with Zim as he looked around at everything he hadn't had the time to stop and appreciate over the past 5 or so years.

Having by now started to hum to himself, Zim merely watched as all the other humans around them just seemed to rush about with their busy schedules, too busy with their own lives to appreciate the beauty around them, causing him to sigh and shake his head. "They really don't deserve this place, you know..." he said, as though he hadn't spent the past 5 years trying to destroy it.

Eyes falling half lidded, Dib could only send Zim a rather unimpressed look in response to those words. "I thought you hated this place..." he reminded to other.

Zim merely shrugged, however. "To an extent...But I mostly hate the creatures on it...The planet is actually quite beautiful." he said before leaning over to kiss Dib. "Like some other things, or persons, I know." he smirked deviously at Dib.

Blushing at Zim's words and the small kiss, Dib quickly shifted his eyes away from the disguised alien. "You didn't used to think that about me before..." he commented on Zim's compliment.

Antennas twitching, Zim could only tilt his head to one side. "How would you know?" he said before turning away, still looking at Dib out of the corner of his eye. "How do you know I wasn't in love with you from the start? Maybe that's why I kissed you..." he continued on, smirking as he rolled his eyes a bit, Dib not catching it however. "...Or...Maybe I've just been teasing you this whole time to take over your planet." his smirk then grew cruel as he teased the other lightly.

Having already opened his mouth to speak, Dib was quick to close it at hearing Zim's last few words. "You make it really hard for me to trust you...I don't think you loved me from the start, nor do I understand why you kissed me...But...But I do think you've meant everything you've said to me over the past few days and perhaps only find me beautiful now because of this disguise..." he tried to keep his voice from shaking as a hurt look came to his face at the thought.

Flinching a bit at Dib's last few words, Zim could only shake his head vigorously. "I-I didn't mean it like that!" he defended before drooping visibly. "I..." he started before shaking his head slower now. "Never mind..." he sighed out heavily, leaning up against Dib.

"But it's true, isn't it? You like the way I look better with this disguise...Kind of like everybody else..." Dib said in a quiet voice, slumping a bit where he stood.

Visibly flinching again, Zim seemed hesitant to pull away from Dib as he could feel the other slumping against him. "But I'm NOT like everybody else, Dib! Honest! You've got me all wrong!" he exclaimed defensively.

"And what does it matter whether I've got you all wrong or not if there's a chance you may just be using me to take over the planet?" he questioned the other, his voice holding little emotion to it.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Ah...Poor paranoid Dib. You'd think Zim would know by now not to tease him about something like that. XD Anyways, Chapter 18 should be up sometime next week...maybe...if I feel like it... so we hope you'll all look forward to that. But really, you all should. Something's about the happen in the next chapter to poor Zimmeh. 8O (Oh noes). Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To Illisandria Carthain: Ah...I see. Well, until your internet life is back off of your iPod and onto a regular computer, I shall wait patiently for your add. =3 And, yes. We be buddies now. (Hug) Yeah, that comment about Chaos being your beta sounded a little fishy to me at first. Thanks for clearing that up. XD But she really does write great stories and RPs. I love the ideas that pop out of her head. Makes our RP so much more enjoyable to write. Though, honestly, we've come close to ending this RP a few times without finishing because of our readers' ignorance. The people over on DA especially just don't take the time to read the author's notes I put up. -_-; They often forget to credit her for the story and either credit her as just the beta or don't credit her at all when they post fanart. Pisses me off to no end. I don't write author's comments to be ignored. And she's very impartant to this story. Her parts are full of awesome. And I know for a fact that I couldn't write them even half as well as she does. As for your weekly question, it varies. Sometimes we'll go days or even weeks without working on it. Other times we'll get a lot done in one day. And on still other times, we'll get a little done in a day. Just depends on whether we're both free and whether we actually feel like working on it at the time. At the moment, I'd say we're getting a little done each day. But we both have school at different times, so it's hard to get a lot done. Not to mention she's two hours ahead of me. So at night when I get home, she's only got a few hours to be online before she should be getting into bed for the night. Hope that answers your question. Can't really give an estimate when it comes to hours though. We're both very busy. But we do what we can to get things done. So we thank you very muchly for the Licky-Stix to go along with our SuckMunkees. Surely those shall give us the energy needed to keep on top of our projects. X3

To SuperSaiyanKiri: Yayz! I'm so happy to see that we have yet another new reader and reviewer. =3 And, I'm glad to hear we updated just in time for you to read that last chapter. XD Hopefully the wait for this new chapter wasn't too horrible. And, yesh! Teh antennae be full of luuuv. X3 Well, hope this chapter answers your question about what the professor wants. As you'll see soon, he'll be entering the story very shortly here. Thank you muchly for taking the time to read and review, and we hope to hear from you again soon. =3

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: We're glad to hear it. Thanks for reading and reviewing. =3

To Turquoise ebonyfox: Yep. =3 We'll be getting into that part of the story very shortly here as well. If only it were as easy as putting on a disguise though. XD

To Invader Ang: Lol. XD Trans-species crossdressing, eh? You have no idea how much closer to the truth that statement really is for this particular story. XD Just you wait. As you'll see much later on, that's not the only type of cross-dressing Dib'll be doing in this story. X3 And I would have to agree with you on that. Irken/hybrid Dib be very sexy indeed. X3 Thanks for the bologna-flavored, Dib-shaped cookies. They were delicious. X3

To kaoru1174: Lol. Oh, yes. I figured something like that might have happed when I didn't see a review from you last chapter. But I give you guys a week to read and review, so I'm not inclined to wait longer than I have to. Glad you got one in on time this week though. =3 As for what Dib looks like, you could always check the links in my profile to fanart pictures we've received or done ourselves for this story. The second to last one posted in there at the moment should be the official preview image for that chapter done by Notgonnadie for our story. And, yes. Of course Gad knew is was Dib. But then again, Gaz knows EVERYTHING. XD And indeed it was quite awkward...for Dib, at least. XD I think Zim liked it though. Well, here be the next chapter to satisfy your ZADR Orange needs. =3 I'm afraid the RAPR doesn't come for quite a LONG, LONG time still though. X'D And we shall certainly do our best to keep up the great work. Hope to talk to you soon again. =3 So until next time.

To Casykirby: Lol. Well, you have much to look forward to then. You'll find out in a few chapters whether Dib decides to go through with the change or not. But until then, here be a new chapter for you that we hope you enjoy just as much. 8D And thanks for being such an awesome reviewer. We really do love to hear when you guys are enjoying the story so much. And we enjoy writing it. I just hope we reach an eventual ending. All the work we've put into it will be so much more worth it if we manage to reach the ending we're shooting for. Until then, however, it be your guys' reviews that keep us going. So thanks for the encouragement. =3

To Vithian: Well, thank you for taking the time to respond back to me. =3 We really do love picking up new readers along the way. So we're glad you were able to find this story amongst the hundreds of ZADR stories already out there. =3 We thank you for your kind words. We really do work very hard on this story and try to keep it as interesting as possible. Sorry if it kept you up late though. ^^; Our story has a tendency to do that to people. There really isn't enough RAPR love in the world though. Funny when you consider what a popular pairing it is. I mean, IZ fans only need watch the show to see it. It's as obvious as the fact that Keef is gay. XD But anyways, we're glad to hear you'll be sticking with our story for now. Hopefully none of the future chapters scare you away in the long run. But if you can put up with us for that long, I can assure you this story will come out to be quite long indeed. Well over 100 chapters if we can keep it up. At least, it looks to be over 100 chapters from looking at the amount we've written for it so far. I'll have to double check again though. In all honesty, I've ficafied around 70 chapters of it so far. Yet there's still so much more to go. And we're still writing it, so I have no idea how much more we'll be writing before finally reaching the end we're shooting for. Guess we'll just have to keep working at it and wait to see. I can assure you though that much more is scheduled to happen in this story, starting with the next chapter. We're just now coming upon another plot twist, so hang on tight and keep your eyes open for future chapters to come. =3

To ashxtaz: Well, hello! 8D So nice of you to join us. Thank you muchly for the kind comment. We're glad to hear you're enjoying it so far. Role playing with someone always makes writing a whole lot easier. And practice. Mustn't forget practice. Keep at it and I'm sure you'll become a great writer someday as well. =3 You'd be surprised how much you can improve in only a few short months if you just keep at it. Thanks for taking the time to read and review. We hope to hear from you again soon. =3

To ClockwerkOrange: -_-; (Not impressed.) Look. For the last time, Notgonnadie and I write this story just for fun. We're not writing it for your guys' amusement. We write it for our own. If you don't like it, don't read. And don't waste our time commenting about what you don't like about it. That's not really our problem, and we're not changing the story just because you don't like some aspect about it. Also, I don't update this story slowly here because we're slow at writing it. In fact, we're much farther ahead in this story than you could possibly imagine. I update it weekly because I have a life and don't waste all my time working solely on updating this story quicker. If I really wanted to, I could have posted around 70 or more chapters by now. But I don't, because the update process on FF is really annoying. So stop complaining about how slowly this story gets updated. It's updated slowly for a reason. And it's not meant just to piss you all off. With that said, I think I'll find my own surgeon to sew back in my organs since yours is creepy. Here be the next chapter in case you feel so inclined to continue reading it despite it containing content you hate. Now, have a nice day~.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: And I bring you all another Tuesday update. To say the very least, I've been tired as hell this past week, but I finally managed to get a slightly better nights sleep this past night. So I guess I'll update now that I'm feeling rested enough to do so. Though, one of my shelves broke and fell to the floor at 3:00 in the morning. Scared the living hell out of me. But aw well...I'll fix a little later on. For now, here by the next chapter of ZADR Orange for you all. Chapter 18. We hope you all enjoy. =3 And remember, feedback is much appreciated, as are faves and the occasional add of our story to people's story alert lists.

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Old Man/Computer/Gaz: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Professor Membrane: Both of us.

Beta: Notgonnadie

Zim was horrified by Dib's words. "Wha- NO! I was only playing with you!" he pulled away from Dib. "After all this, you still think I'm going to try and destroy this planet? You already know it's a reserve!" he was desperately trying to make Dib believe him.

"Yeah, but only because you're on it right now, and your leader is so madly in love with you! But if you were to ever leave, how do I know it would still remain as a reserve? Your leaders could blow it up at any time if they really wanted to!" Dib argued back.

"Eh, but you- he- GAH!" Zim tugged at his wig where his antennae were hiding. "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST BELIEVE ME? I CAN'T LEAVE THIS PLANET! EVER!" he yelled, starting to attract a little attention. "I JUST THOUGHT YOU'D LET ME SPEND MY POINTLESS EXISTENCE WITH YOU!" he kept ranting, walking around in circles and tearing at his antennae under the wig.

His eyes watering up in frustration and sorrow, Zim was getting dangerously close to a pond in the park which they had been passing by. "I GUESS IT DOESN'T MATTER TO YOU THOUGH, HUH? I KEEP TRYING, DON'T YOU GET IT? I KNOW IT'S HARD TO TRUST ME! BUT IF YOU DIDN'T...YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME AT ANY TIME AND VICE VERSA! DOESN'T THAT MEAN SOME-" he instantly got cut short from his rant by an old man behind him.

"Ehh? WATCH IT, WHIPPER SNAPPER!" the old man yelled as Zim bumped into him before whirling back around.

"Wha- Ahh!" Zim felt his leg getting caught on the old man's walker as he turned, causing him to trip and plunge over the edge into the pond.

Standing back, Dib could only watch with wide eyes as Zim was swallowed up by the pond water. "Zim!" he yelled in a panic before running over to the edge and diving in after him. As a large crowd was beginning to surround the area, Dib finally re-emerged with an unconscious Zim in his arms, desperately trying to swim for the shore with said Irken in one arm, his skin sizzling and steaming from not having bathed in paste that day.

Feeling a random bystander suddenly take hold of his arm, Dib looked up as he and Zim were both pulled safely in to shore, the bystander helping Dib get Zim onto his back. "Zim!" Dib screamed again, shaking the other and praying to God he wasn't dead. Realizing soon after that Zim was bleeding when he looked down to his hands, covered in the others blood, Dib panicked even more. "Oh God, no..." he wasted no time at all in scooping Zim up into his arms and making a mad dash for the alien's base before anyone could even call for help, knowing that if he let them take Zim to a hospital, he would more than likely be discovered.

"Oh, please hang on, Zim! Just whatever you do, please hang on!" he begged, pressing his cheek to Zim's head, the tears coming now as he had no idea whether Zim would pull through this or not.

His body wracked with pain, Zim could feel his skin melting off as he was only conscious enough to know he was being carried somewhere. But the pain was too overwhelming for him to stay focused for long. Inside, he was raging at himself. If he hadn't gotten so mad at Dib, he would have been paying attention and not tripped like he had.

Bursting through the front door to Zim's base, making a run for the elevator in the kitchen, Dib knew that he needed to get Zim down to his medical bay. "Computer! I need you to bring me down to the level of Zim's base with all the medical equipment! And fast!" he spat out in a rush, holding the Irken close, this situation feeling all too familiar.

"Again? Didn't we just go through this a few days ago?" the computer seemed highly annoyed with all the work it had been forced to do over the past few days.

Not having time for this, Dib merely glared up at the ceiling where the voice of Zim's computer was coming from. "Just do it already! He needs medical attention right now!" he demanded, in no mood to deal with the computer's sarcastic nature.

"Ehhh...I don't really feel like it right now. Could you come back later? Or perhaps, not at all." the computer asked in a truly lazy voice.

"NO! I swear to God, if you don't take me down right now, I will completely dismantle you later on at night!" Dib threatened Zim's computer.

"Pfft...As if. You don't even know HOW. Now go away. I'm busy." the computer merely brushed off his threat as though it were nothing.

"Ehh..." Zim groaned in Dib's arms, eyes squeezed shut in pain.

"Zim!" Dib looked down at the other worriedly when he heard the Irken moan before glaring back up at the ceiling, where the computer's voice was coming from. "That may be so, but I'm certain Zim would know how to. Or I could just tell Gir when he gets back that I've hidden tacos somewhere in all your circuitry and let him tear you apart trying to find them." he said, not having the time or patience to continue playing games with Zim's computer.

"Hmm?" the computer fell silent for a few moments. "Well, when you put it that way...NO!" the computer shouted angrily at him before reaching down two metallic arms to pick them up and toss them out on the sidewalk. "Go bug some other lab!" it said before automatically slamming the front door shut on them.

Eyes shooting wide open as they were thrown out the door, Dib held close to Zim as he landed flat on his back and skidded across the cement a few feet. "Ow..." he groaned, sitting up slowly before blinking wide eyes up at the green and purple house, unable to believe Zim's computer would just throw them out like that when Zim was in such bad shape.

"Damn...I don't have time to spend the rest of the night standing here arguing with Zim's computer. He needs help right now!" he exclaimed frustratedly before trying to think of where he could take the injured alien that would be safe. "I've got it! Dad's lab at home! I-It will just have to do for now!" he said out loud to himself, wasting no time at all in picking himself up off the sidewalk with Zim and dashing off towards his own house, praying that he hadn't already wasted too much time.

Meanwhile, back at the Membrane residence, Professor Membrane had decided to stay home today so he could wait for Dib to show up to scold him about his bad grades. "Hmm...Where IS your brother, Gaz?" he had been waiting impatiently in the kitchen practically all day.

"Uhhh...For the LAST TIME. He's at his boyfriend's house." Gaz growled, tired to having to repeat herself.

"Now, now, Gaz. No need to say such things about your brother. He's just as straight as you are." he chuckled in a light-hearted fashion.

Lifting her gaze up from the game she was playing on her Game Slave III, she couldn't help but glare daggers in his direction. "You have no idea." she said, mostly under her breath.

Not catching his daughter's words, Professor Membrane lifted his head when he heard the front door opening and closing from his spot in the kitchen. "Ah, there he is now." he said before standing from his spot to go meet him before he could head on up to his room.

Running right past Membrane with Zim in his arms to head on down to the lab in a panic, Dib seemed to stop dead in his tracks at hearing his father's voice.

"And just where do you think you're going, son?" Membrane stood back in the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed as he tapped his foot against the ground.

Slowly turning to face his father, Dib swallowed thickly as he prayed he had just been hearing things. But there stood Membrane, ready to scold him for his bad grades. "D-Dad? Wh-What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised, to say the very least.

"I've been waiting for you to get home, Son. We need to talk about those grades." he said, having yet to notice Dib was part Irken but noticing Zim nonetheless. "Who is this?" he asked, pointing at the disguised Irken.

Taking a few nervous steps backwards with Zim, Dib could only shake his head. "N-Nobody...J-Just a friend...A friend who needs medical attention ASAP! Sorry, Dad, but we'll have to discuss my grades later!" he instantly turned to run out of the room and down into the lab with Zim, setting him carefully on one of the tables in there before running back upstairs to retrieve some towels and any other medical supplies he thought he'd be needing from the bathroom.

Watching Dib shocked, Membrane couldn't believe his eyes. Dib...HIS SON...was in the lab...doing things...REAL SCIENCE! He grinning and followed Dib down into the lab. Dib, however, didn't notice him.

Meanwhile, back upstairs, Gaz merely sighed. "Well, Dad had to figure it out SOME TIME."

Back down in the lab, Membrane walked in on Dib, working hard, making him proud, until he saw and heard the affections his son was lavishing upon the unconscious boy on the table who was moaning, obviously in pain.

Kneeling down near the edge of the table, gently patting Zim's skin dry with one of the towels, and trying to clean as much of the blood off from his wounds as possible, Dib all the while spoke soft reassurances into the other's antennae that everything would be alright, tears streaming down his own face as he was having a far harder time convincing himself that everything would be alright.

"Come on, Zim...Just hang in there a little longer...E-Everything will be alright...I'm not going to let you suffer through this alone..." he pressed his forehead to Zim's, closing his eyes and whispering quietly to the other. "...I love you..." those three words slipped past his lips before he could stop himself.

Having had enough of this, Membrane didn't wait around to listen in on this any longer as he turned to storm back upstairs, fists clenched. Entering the kitchen and seeing Gaz still at the kitchen table, he turned to address her. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Gaz. Your brother IS...gay." he said the word with what sounded like disgust in his voice, looking rather uncomfortable now. "...I should have never lumped you two together." he apologized, figuring he could at least save his relationship with ONE of his kids.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. So for those of you who were wondering where the fuck Professor Membrane was in all this, there you have it. He's kind of an ass and homophobe in this story. But we'll get more into that in a few more chapters or so. XD So for now, just look forward to Chapter 19, which should be up sometime next week. In the meantime, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To Casykirby: Yes. Dib is hurt emotionally. But he's hurt emotionally a LOT throughout this story. Zim's the one who's about to get hurt physically, as I'm sure you can see in today's chapter. But anyways, if you can put up with all the torment we put them through, we hope you'll continue to enjoy this story right up to the very end. =3 You and your friends have much to live for still. Because this story won't be ending for a LONG, LONG time. So thanks for reading and reviewing. =3 We very much appreciate it.

To Invader Ang: Yesh! Had I wanted to, I could have already posted at least 70 chapters here. And yet, we'd still be near the beginning of this story compared to how many chapters there actually will be when this is all said and done. But trust me, you don't want me posting 70 chapters all at once. You have no idea how overloaded your mind would be with information from this story. Notgonnadie and I can't even keep up with it half the time. Weekly updates are best in this situation. You guys have time to take things in slowly and reflect on them before we move on. Besides, the wait is always worth it and makes the update only that much more sweeter. =3 And yes. You be correct in assuming there be some cross-dressing in this. Of course, you may not like the reason for the cross-dressing later on. But we'll see. XD Thanks for reading and reviewing. Here be the next update for you. =3 This chapter be even sadder though. TT^TT Poor Dibbeh's doubting get poor Zimmeh hurt.

To ashxtaz: Well, nobody ever said writing was easy. It requires a LOT of practice as does comic making. You just gotta have the mind set enough to keep working at it no matter what. You WILL improve though if you keep at it. A good way to keep track of your improvement as encouragement to continue is to keep a piece as your starting point, read/look over it and then compare it to your work a little later on. Trust me. You'll see improvements. I can guarantee it. =3 But anyways. Yesh, you may enjoy it over on DA, but I urge you to continue reading here as well. =3 It's less of an overload of information if you read it over here. But we're glad to hear you're enjoying it so much regardless. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Why, thank you. =3 We're glad you enjoyed the chapter so much. =3 It is different reading the story here and on DA. Personally, I recommend people read it here to get less of an information overload, but I can't really control where and how fast people read it. Though, pretty soon we may be taking it off DA. To remedy our problem about people not giving the proper credit for the story, we've set up a seperate website for the story in hopes people will start paying closer attention to what we have to say. And comments will be taken in a forum so we'll still be able to respond back to you people on it. =3 Here though, it takes so much longer to write out the responses to you people. I could always just PM you guys, but I prefer just responding through the story. Keeps my message boxes here fairly organized. Though I need to give plenty of thought to my responses before writing them out, given I only get the chance to speak with each of you once a week. But it's worth it in the long run. And I know how people like to get shoutouts in the story. =3 Anyways, as for your story, if you'd like to PM us with it once it's posted, do feel free to. =3 I know we're both always looking for good new stories to read on here. And you have tickled my interest a bit with it. 83 So I say go for it. With that said, I wish you good luck in your competition today and look forward to hearing back from you some time soon. =3

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: You certainly don't say a lot. XD But thanks for reading anyways. X3

To SuperSaiyanKiri: Oh, yes. This story be full of drama indeed. XD But that's what keeps you people actually reading it. XD As for the 70 chapters, you have much to look forward to. Trust me. Don't be thinking that we STOP at 70 chapters. By then, we'll only just be getting started with this story. It's much longer than you all could possibly imagine. XD And so long as you continue to read and review, you shall continue to be acknowledged as one of our reviewers. =3 And, no. Your eyes do not deceive you. We have plans for crossdressing Dibbeh much later on in the story. X3 Though you'll have to keep up with the story if you want to see it. Cause we already know we may lose a good portion of our readers a little later on, given the circumstances of the story. We just hope we can keep you as a reader though. =3 Just depends on whether you can put up with us and our randomness for that long. XD But for now. thank you muchly for reading and reviewing. We hope to hear back from you again soon. =3

To Vithian: Oh, trust me. 70 Chapters only accounts for the very tip of the iceburg when it comes to this story. And this may come out to be the most monterous story you've ever read. We're kind of shooting for one of the longest chapter stories out there. Of course, I'll feel much better once we actually reach the ending we're shooting for with this story. XD In the meantime, however, we're very slowly inching our way towards it. Mainly because we just started work on another new story that we might actually post here. XD Maybe...If we feel like it. But this one be one of our top priorities in writing. And you won't have to feel too horribly bitter once it ends. Because we also have plans for a sequel right after it. XD Two actually. This is supposed to be part of a triology we have planned out. XD But let's not get into that until I can confirm we've actually finished writing this one first. ^^; In the meantime, you guys get to enjoy paranoid Dibbeh. And, yes. He really wouldn't be himself if he wasn't at least a little bit paranoid in this story. XD

To ClockwerkOrange: Alright. I'll forgive you for that last comment. But please do keep in mind that the way you word certain reviews can be taken as just complaining. Your last one wasn't worded very well and therefore just sounded like you were pointing out the parts you DON'T enjoy. Try to stay more focused on what you do like about the chapters. And if you don't for any reason like any of it, just don't respond that week and wait for the next chapter to come out. And, yes. This story could have been updated to 70 chapters by now. But posting all that at once would have resulted in a major information overload. Trust me, you don't want that when it comes to reading this story. Notgonnadie and I can't even keep up with what we write half the time. It jumps around way too much for any one person to keep up with. I'm glad to hear then that you are at least enjoying the story, even if you don't like the antennae touchy. Just remember that it is something our other readers do enjoy as do Notgonnadie and I. As for the speed of my updates, like I've said before, updatage is slow for a reason. I don't have the time to update any quicker at the moment, though perhaps if you're all good, we'll update a little faster once we've actually finished writing the story. Just depends on how much time we have on our hands. Here's the next chapter in exchange for the pineapples and please don't take what I say too personally. We DO want you guys to enjoy it. We just prefer not to hear what you guys DON'T like about it. But anyways, thanks for being such a loyal reader and reviewer anyways. (Hug) And we hope to hear from you again soon. =3

To kaoru1174: Yes. Yes, he is indeed. But emo Dib is what makes him so cute in this story. ^.^ Unfortunately, poor Zimmeh has to put up with it throughout the story. Not that it can really be helped though. XD Dibbeh is put through a LOT in this story. It's expected of him that he'll act that way. XD And it's not that I choose not to wait for you people to review. I give you guys an entire week for a reason. If you can't in that time, then you can't. No big deal. I understand that you guys have got lives too. Just update on time when you can, and if you can't, wait for the next chapter to come out. As for the fanarts, please do give them a look. =3 The people who make them work hard on those pieces. Though honestly, I may have to go through and fix the links I put in my profile. ^^; I think I was posting the wrong links the first time around. And a few people deactivated their accounts, which means some of the artwork isn't there any longer. But oh well. I'll do that a little later on. I'm glad to hear you've got plans to be sticking around with this story. We hope they don't change at any point in the story. There are a few chapters I worry about losing you guys at, but we'll see. And we're glad to hear you work so hard to keep up with this story. =3 I know how it can be trying to keep up with a story that doesn't update often. But we'll do our best not to let you guys down when it comes to updating here. Just don't throw the blame at us if you ever get caught slacking instead of doing your homework. XD We don't mean for this story to be so distracting to you guys. Perhaps that's another reason we don't update more than once a week on here. XD Hope this chapter, and what happens to Zim in it, was to your liking though. XD

To CaptainMoronic: Well, hello there. 8D So nice of you to join us. =3 I do believe we've spoken over on DA the past few days, and I thank you for taking the time to read our story and review. =3. We're glad to hear you're enjoying it so much. And we hope you'll continue to enjoy reading our story as it gets updated. And yes, this story be full of many compelling emotions. But they all work together to keep you people entertained. Though we hope it doesn't distract you too horribly much. XD In any case, we do hope you decide to continue reading it here as well. It's much less of an information overload if you do. So we hope you enjoy this next chapter and hope to hear back from you again soon. =3


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Hmmm...What to say this week...Meh...I've got nothing. Just enjoy this update of ZADR Orange. Chapter 19 for those of you reading. =3 And remember, feedback, faves, and adds to story alert lists are all much appreciated. 8D So we hope you all enjoy. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Professor Membrane: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Gaz: Both of us.

Beta: Notgonnadie

Gaz couldn't take it anymore. She was sick and tired of having to listen to her father complain about every imperfection he found in Dib. So dropping her video game, she couldn't help but send Professor Membrane an icy glare. "Dad, SHUT UP! We ARE lumped together! I'm gay too!" she voiced out before stomping her way over to the stairs to the lab. "If you were home more, you would have known this about us!" she turned to scream back at him before storming down the stairs, just mad enough at Membrane to help Dib save Zim.

Jumping at the sound of his sister stomping down the stairs, Dib quickly turned his head to look back at her. "G-Gaz?" he couldn't believe his eyes as he watched her with come up next to him so she could kneel down and take up her own towel to help him dry Zim off.

Glaring back at Dib, Gaz merely snapped at him. "Well, don't just sit there staring at me like a moron! Get the disinfectant from the downstairs bathroom!" she ordered, pointing back up the stairs with one hand, using her other one to continue drying off Zim.

Snapping out of his stupor at her words, Dib quickly nodded his head. "Right!" he wasted no time at all in getting up to do just that, running back upstairs and grabbing what Gaz had instructed him to retrieve.

Meanwhile, back up in the kitchen, Membrane merely stood where he was, shocked as he slowly began to shake his head. His kids...BOTH his kids..."I don't understand it..." he said under his breath to himself, too oblivious to have ever noticed such a thing before, now causing him to start rethinking his views on OTHER things...Including a few things Dib had told him over the years.

Back in the lab, Zim couldn't help but whimper in pain, his breathing heavy as his PAK now had him heavily sedated. Falling into that pond had done a LOT of damage however, making it still hurt somewhat. "D-Dib?" the others name slipped past his lips.

Returning with the disinfectant his sister had told him to get as well as some bandages, Dib quickly made his way over to Zim's side. "Here I am! Please, Zim, just hang in there!" he kneeled back down next to his sister and handed her the bottle of disinfectant. "Here! Use this on the wounds on his face! I need to get these wet clothes off of him so I can dry off the rest of his body!" he instructed her urgently, wasting no time in pulling Zim's shirt up his body and over his head so he could drape a towel over his chest and stomach before moving on to his pants, which he hesitated to undo, blushing somewhat and looking away to the side shyly. Carefully beginning to undo the Irken's pants, trying to do so without having to look at the other's anatomy, Dib took care to cover up the lower half of his body with another towel once he had gotten them off all the way, deciding to work with that half of his body later after he had finished cleaning up the wounds on his chest.

His breathing beginning to stabilize a little bit, Zim continued to inhale and exhale very shallowly.

Looking over at Dib, Gaz somehow managed to show just a little bit of worry on her face. "Is he going to be okay?" she asked, not liking the sound of his breathing at the moment.

"I-I don't know...I hope so. He fell into the pond at the park, and his base's computer refused to help me. Then it kicked us out on the street! A-And as much as I wanted to get some kind of revenge on it for doing that to us, I-I knew I had to get Zim medical attention somewhere that would be safe, so naturally I thought to come here. I mean, where else could I have gone? It's not like I could have taken him to a hospital for help. Th-That would have given him away!" he exclaimed, recounting the events back to her that had led up to this moment.

Nodding her head in response, for once not commenting on Dib's whiney attitude, she merely turned back to continue her work on him with the disinfectant.

Too drugged up to really notice anything at the moment, Zim struggled to move his hand, too numb to know anything except that he wanted Dib. "Di-b-uh..." he wheezed, his eyes squeezed shut. "S-oory..." he tried to make out words to the other before letting his hand fall back down, too much of a strain to keep searching for the one he wanted.

"Zim!" Dib exclaimed before gingerly reaching forward to take Zim's hand in his own, petting the top of it with the fingers on his free hand before bringing it to his lips to kiss gently. "I'm right here, Zim...I'm right here..." he reassured the other, nuzzling the hand to one of his cheeks as he let his eyelids slip closed and a few stray tears roll down onto Zim's hand before returning to his work on his chest, pouring some of the disinfectant onto a portion of one of the towels and then dabbing it gently against Zim's wounds, taking care not to hurt the Irken too much.

Hissing through his teeth at the anesthetic but doing nothing more than that, knowing it was for his own good, Zim couldn't help but feel as though he deserved much worse for yelling at Dib so much over nothing.

Watching Dib work in silence, Gaz slowly stepped back after a moment to allow him access to Zim's head. "How did he fall in anyways?" she asked, knowing there had to be more to this than what Dib was telling her.

Stopping his work at Gaz's question, Dib's entire body seemed to tense up before relaxing again and drooping. "We...were in the middle of an argument...I said some really horrible things to him. He got upset and then...then he tripped over a man's cane and fell straight into the pond...But I never meant for something like that to happen! It was an accident! I dove right in after him, but for all I know, it may be too late...If his wounds are bad enough, he could die from this..." he bowed his head, his tears starting up again.

Shaking her head at Dib's words, Gaz merely sighed. "You really are stupid, aren't you?" she said before walking up to Zim again and pulling at some of the skin on his face, some of it tearing off.

Flinching momentarily, Zim quickly relaxed again at the action.

"He's already healing himself." Gaz said, dropping the dead, burned skin flakes into Dib's currently three-fingered hand. "If your story's right, he was only in there for a few minutes." she rolled her eyes a bit.

Groaning a little, half in pain and half numb, Zim could feel his PAK now redirecting the anesthetics to the still wet half of his body, leaving the dryer half to be in pain.

"...He's still soaking wet though..." Gaz said before glancing at Zim's still covered lower half. "And that end might be needing it more than this one." she pointed to his upper half, an evil grin coming to her face as she headed back towards the stairs. "I think I'll let you do that part." she seemed to tease him cruelly.

Face lighting up a bright red at Gaz's last few words, Dib looked back towards the lower half of Zim's body, still covered by the towel. Despite feeling uncomfortable about it, he knew he had to take care of Zim's lower half and approached it slowly. Squeezing his eyes shut, he whispered a quiet apology to the other.

"Sorry about this, Zim..." he said before taking another towel to begin at Zim's legs, doing his best to work around the other's groin area, keeping the towel there for the time being until he had finished with the wounds on Zim's legs. Then, realizing that he at least had to take a peek at the Irken's unmentionables to make sure they had come out unscathed, Dib reached a shaking hand down to lift the towel, lowering it a split second later, his face on fire now although relieved to see that other than an already healing burn mark, there was nothing bleeding down there that he would have to clean up.

Cold now that the burning had for the most part stopped, Zim shivered in his spot on top of the table. "Dib...?" he murmured, cracking his eyes open to look for Dib or at least a blanket or something warm to wrap himself in.

Looking up at Zim, Dib came to kneel down closer to him, bringing a hand up to press to his forehead, his other hand reaching for Zim's hand. "I'm right here, Zim...I'm right here..." he leaned down to kiss the alien on the forehead.

Sighing at the kiss, Zim could only shake his head. "I'm sorry..." he apologized again.

"No...No, don't be..." Dib shook his own head. "It wasn't your fault...It was mine..." he kissed Zim's forehead again. "It was all my fault..." he then pressed his forehead to the Irken's so he could place another kiss where the others nose would be if he were human.

"And I should be the one apologizing to you...I'm sorry..." he lightly brushed his lips against Zim's, nuzzling his face to his and breathing in shakily.

Blushing somewhat, surprised by the attention that normally he would never get, Zim laughed a bit uncertainly. "Heh...If this is the treatment I get, maybe I should get hurt more often." he joked, nudging Dib back a bit.

Frowning at that statement however, Dib closed his eyes and let a few stray tears slip down his cheeks. "Please don't..." he said in a truly broken tone.

Antennas lowering again, Zim looked away somewhat awkwardly now. "Sorry...It was a bad joke..." he reached for Dib's hand and held it as tightly as he could. "I'm still cold, Dib..." he looked back up at the other, pouting a little. "Could you warm me up? " he asked, just wanting Dib's closeness more than anything else in that moment.

Eyes snapping wide open at Zim's statement, Dib quickly pulled away, somewhat flustered now. "Oh! S-Sorry..." he apologized again before quickly removing his trench coat to place over the other before standing up. "Wait here. I'll be right back." he said before quickly dashing upstairs to get something, returning a minute later with a large, warm-looking blanket to place over him. "Here. This should help you to warm up. S-Sorry about that. I-I had to remove your wet clothes." he blushed again before shifting his gaze to the side shyly.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. And look! Dib removing Zim's clothes. (Hurr) XD Don't let that fool you though. No smex until chapter 34! Until then, you'll all just have to be happy with the chapters I post here. So look forward to Chapter 20 next week and have a nice day. =3 Now, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To Casykirby: Lol. Of course you were put as first comment. XD Like I said, I respond to you guys in the same order you all review. You just happened to be the first reviewer last week, so I responded to you first. And you were the first reviewer this week, so once again, you get responded to first. X3 Anyways, ah, yes. Poor Zimmeh got hurt bad in that pond water. You have to imagine it's far more poluted than even rain water is. But Dibbeh will take care of him. This kind of thing actually happens a lot in this story. XD You can practically set your watch to it. Big fight, life-threatening situation, make-up. It's like a never-ending cycle for these two. XD And Professor Membrane is slow. Or at least ignorant. Of course, he doesn't take the truth well in this story at first, as you'll see in a chapter or two. But oh well. He'll get over it. Anyhow. Glad to hear you at least enjoyed that last chapter. And we hope you continue to enjoy the chapters to come. So until next time. ^_~

To Meta-Knight-1-fan: Lol. We're glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much. XD And we really like ZADR too. Membrane is an ass in this story at first, but that's only because he's in a bit of shock at the moment, as I'm sure you can imagine. He'll get over it eventually though. XD Personally, I actually really like Membrane's character. It just kind of depends on how he's being portrayed. But anyways, we shall certainly continue to write this story. =3 Every day it seems like we get just a little closer to bringing this story to an end in our RPing.

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Glad to hear it. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Oh, well congratulations on doing well at your marching exhibition. =3 I'm glad to hear it. And I look forward to reading what you're putting together then. Of course, Dib still cares about Zim. He couldn't ever stop caring about Zim even if he tried. Though he does have trust issues in this story. I'll give you that. But can you really blame him considering the family he grew up with? Of course he's going to be somewhat of a whiny bitch. He has his reasons though. We torment both Zim and Dib a lot in this story. So he has every right to act that way. And Membrane. Where do I even begin with him? He is a douche. And probably deserves such a trophy at this point in the story, but for the record, he IS in quite a bit of shock at this point. He'll get over it later in the story though. XD Anyways, as for your weekly question, I'd have to say yes. I do have other works on DA. Though it depends on what you mean by works. If you mean "works" as in artwork, then yes, I do post lots of artwork on DA. If you mean other stories however, then yes. I also have most of the stories posted here also posted over on DA with the exception of The Love of One (It's a total piece of crap. Trust me. Don't read it.) And another story of mine that I did with ZimPLUSDib, called In the Dark, is posted over there as well because it got removed from FF. Of course, the majority of these works are all posted on my old, orangechidna account. My ZADRfan1 account is a little bare in comparison. But I do try to keep up with posting things at least once a month, whether it be on that account or my silk screen account: kbrd. But we will most definitely keep up with this story. So keep your eyes open for updates. And for the record, DA will no longer be hosting updates for the story. The only two places being updated from now on will be here on FF and over on the website we made for the story. So make sure to read our journals and bookmark the link I leave to that website if you haven't already. Thanks for reading. =3

To SuperSaiyanKiri: Lol. Awwwz...Yes, Membrane is an ass at this point in the story. But that doesn't mean you should hate him in EVERYTHING you read. He actually can be portrayed as a good character if given the chance. Of course, he's in a bit of shock at the moment, so that's why he seems like such a bad character. But he'll get over it later in the story. XD Anyways, I certainly hope so. Though really, it's not just a little randomness. It's a whole LOT of randomness. And randomness that not many people like. So I really can't say how many people will stick with it. But until we reach that point, I guess we've got the majority of you hooked for at least a few more months. XD So thanks for reading and reviewing and we hope to hear back from you soon. X3

To Vithian:Yesh! There had to be at least one homophobe in this story and Membrane was the perfect candidate for it. XD Of course, we plan on pulling him out of it eventually in the story. So don't bash on him too hard. He'll come around after the shock wears off. XD Lol. And, yes. We're hoping it will be at least. 81 chapters is the longest I've seen a ZADR story reach thus far. And I feel fairly confident we'll be passing that marker very soon. Actually, we probably have already. XD I just haven't ficafied that far yet. XD As for the sequels, we've already for the most part plotted out a lot of the second story. And at least a little of the third if we ever get into them. But until then, we'll stay focused on finishing up this story for now. As you'll see soon enough, this isn't the only water scene Zim has to suffer through in this story. But it's probably the worse, given it's pond water and that's much more polluted than rain water. And as for the random old man, he was thrown in there during one of Notgonnadie's parts. So praise her for that. XD Thanks for reading and reviewing. Can't wait to hear back from you. =3

To Watermelondrea: Ah, don't worry about it too much. I'm certain he'll be more understanding once the shock wears off. XD Thanks for reading and reviewing. X3

(Wow. Not many of you responded this week compared to what I normally get in reviews. Lol. XD I hope we're not losing you guys already. We weren't expecting to start losing people until at least Chapter 39. XD)


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Haha! We have finally reached 20 chapters here on ZADR Orange! 8D And 99 reviews from you guys! =3 So, to celebrate this event, I'm going to be offering one you guys a request for this story. First person to review and give us our 100th review for this story will receive a picture from me of any scene they'd like me to draw from the story thus far. =3 Also, whoever catches said review will have the following chapter dedicated to them as thanks for being such an awesome reader and reviewer. Though you're all awesome in our eyes. =3 So much love and thanks to those of you who have faved or added our story to your story alert that said, let me keep you waiting no longer as we sincerely hope you all enjoy this next installment of ZADR Orange. 8D And as always, your feedback is much appreciated. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Gaz: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Professor Membrane: Both of us.

Beta: Notgonnadie

When Dib offered him the blanket, Zim couldn't help but sigh. This was not what he had actually had in mind though he accepted it still, snuggling into the warmth anyways. "Can you stay with me?" he then asked, looking up at the boy sadly, his eyes begging for Dib to lay down next to him.

"O-Of course! I-I wouldn't leave you..." Dib said quickly, kneeling down near the Irken again and leaning in to press another kiss to his forehead before resting his head on Zim's chest comfortably.

Smiling at this, Zim brought his arms up to wrap around Dib. "Thank you..." he thanked the other before closing his eyes tiredly.

Finding the Irken's neck to nuzzle his face into, Dib responded by placing a gentle kiss there.

Eyes closing all the way now, Zim finally managed to get comfortable enough to start purring again.

Meanwhile, standing in the doorway to the lab, Gaz merely watched Dib and Zim from her spot near the door. Nodding to herself when Dib started cuddling Zim, she then turned on her heel to go back upstairs and deal with Membrane.

Lifting his head from Zim's neck just as Gaz was leaving, Dib looked over in the direction of the door she had just left out of. "Zim...I'll be right back, okay? Just try to get some sleep." he said before nuzzling one last kiss to Zim's lips and standing up to follow his sister. "Hey, Gaz! Wait up!" he called after her.

Sighing yet again to himself, Zim's antennae drooped as he snuggled back down into the blanket.

Hearing Dib, Gaz turned back around to look at him. "What, Dib?" she asked, just wanting to get the encounter with Membrane over with as soon as physically possible.

"Uhm...Well, I...Th-Thank you...for helping me with Zim..." Dib thanked her before looking up from the ground towards the top of the stairs. "Y-You're going to talk with Dad, aren't you?" he then said, gesturing towards the living room.

Nodding her head, Gaz dropped her own gaze down to the ground. "He's been in the dark too long. I can't take it anymore, Dib...I think he hates you now. And me soon after." she informed him just to let him know not to expect too much from Dad anytime soon.

Entire body drooping, Dib just looked away to the side. "You know, we've tried to tell him before...But he just never listens...Or maybe...He just doesn't want to believe everything we try to tell him..." he said in a low whisper before bringing his arms up to hug himself. "I really wish mom were here right now..." his voice came out somewhat strained.

Reaching up for Dib in a very out of character show of kindness, Gaz pulled him into a light hug. "I know...I miss her too...But at least you have Zim now..." she for once was actually trying to look on the brighter side of things.

Hugging her back, resting a cheek on her shoulder, Dib sighed out somewhat contently now. "Zim's not the only one I have...I have you too...And you have me. So that's why...I'm not letting you go up there alone...Whatever you have to say to Dad, we'll tell him together...And if he rejects us both...Then I'm sure Zim won't mind letting us both stay at his base once he's feeling well enough to head back." he reassured her, not wanting her to feel as though she had to do this alone.

An uncharacteristically sad look coming to her face, Gaz sighed and pulled away from Dib. "Okay..." she agreed as she took hold of Dib's hand and the two of them finished the now less lonely trek to the living room to encounter their father.

Smiling and holding her hand tightly as they made their way up the stairs, Dib could feel his smile falling away upon entering the living room where Membrane was sitting and waiting, hunched over in a dark corner of the room, seemingly deep in thought. Looking over at Gaz one last time, Dib took in a deep breath before standing up straighter, deciding it would be best that he spoke up first since his father already hated him and nothing he said could really make the situation any worse than it already was. "Dad..." he addressed Membrane confidently.

A little surprised, Membrane seemed to jolt out of his thoughts before looking at his two kids and then away from them, a little embarrassed now. "Yes, Dib?" he began in a surprisingly calm voice.

Glancing back at Gaz momentarily, Dib returned his gaze to his father when she nodded back at him to continue. "G-Gaz and I both think it's about time the three of us sat down and had a talk about a few things." he continued, trying not to let the shakiness in his voice get to him.

Now seeming quite shocked that his kids seemed to think they could take such control over the situation, Membrane continued to gaze down at the ground with wide eyes. "And why is that?" his voice remained just as calm as it had been a few moments prior.

Feeling now as though his father weren't really taking this conversation seriously, Dib narrowed his eyes on him a bit. "Because like it or not, we're YOUR kids and the least you could do is hear us out for once in your life rather than just running away because mom died." his voice held a hint of hatred in it now.

Looking shocked yet again, Membrane deadpanned before looking away, still ashamed. "What is there to say?" he really didn't want to be having this conversation with his kids.

His look softening a bit, Dib replaced it with a more annoyed look now. "Nothing...We've already said everything we've wanted to say to you before...All we're asking is that you actually listen and believe what we're telling you." his own voice had grown quieter now.

But Membrane could only shake his head as he went to stand up. "I have work to do." he wasn't about to listen to another word of this conversation.

Frowning at this, Dib then let out a bitter laugh. "I knew it...Even when the proof is standing right in front of you, you still run away from it...and us...Maybe you and mom should have never had us if you hated us so much..." he scoffed, turning away slightly with his arms crossed.

Turning on Dib, Membrane for the first time yelled back at him in a truly angry voice. "NOW LISTEN HERE! I LOVED YOUR MOTHER! ALL SHE EVER WANTED WAS CHILDREN! WHY WOULD I NOT HAVE GIVEN HER WHAT SHE WANTED?" he exploded, his fists shaking in rage as he had wanted to blow up on them for so long now but had been doing his best to keep his composer.

Taking a few steps back with Gaz behind him, Dib stood his ground, scowling back up at Membrane. "You know, for a genius, you really are stupid. Maybe because this isn't just some game you can give up on just because the other person 'playing' with you left! What do you think we are? Just two failed experiments you can throw aside and neglect just because things didn't go according to plan?" he screamed back at Membrane, the fact that his father saw them as just that causing his temper to rise more and more.

Glaring back at Dib, Membrane turned yet again as though to leave. "I DO NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN MYSELF TO YOU!" he didn't want to admit that Dib was right.

Squeezing hard on Dib's still currently three-fingered hand, Gaz then stepped up to face him herself. "THAT'S BECAUSE YOU CAN'T, ISN'T IT?" she wanted the truth from him.

Deadpanning again, Membrane then turned his glare down on Gaz. "Get out..." his voice was eerily quiet.

Afraid of what Membrane might do to her, Dib stepped in between him and Gaz. "I don't see what mom ever saw in you..." he met Membrane's glare with a glare of his own.

His glare growing even harsher on the two, Membrane retorted with a similar response. "I feel the same about you." he said, no longer having the patience to deal with either of them anymore.

Smirking back at him, Dib continued to back away with Gaz a few more steps. "Yeah? Well at least we won't die alone like you..." he said, also prepared to just leave so he wouldn't have to deal with his father any longer.

Fists clenched, Membrane glared at them as they backed out of the room. "Get out of my house." he demanded in a scarily quiet voice. "Take your freak." he pointed towards the lab. "And any other worthless objects you have and leave...NOW!" he then pointed his finger out the door.

"Fine! We'll happily do just that!" Dib screamed before turning to storm out of the room with Gaz, stopping at the bottom of the stairs and turning to face her. "Go ahead and get anything you think you'll be needing from your room then meet me down by the front door. I already packed everything I needed yesterday. I'm going down to the lab to get Zim then we're out of here." he said before turning to head down into the lab but then stopping himself, turning back around to head on up the stairs.

"Actually, on second thought, there is something else I need to grab from my room." he corrected himself before following Gaz up the stairs and bolting down the hallway to his room, returning to the lab a few minutes later with a clean pair of clothes. Finding Zim curled up under the blanket, his eyes closed as though he were sleeping, Dib reached forward a hand to give Zim a small shake. "Zim...Zim..." he needed the other to wake up.

"Mmmm?" Zim mumbled as if he had been asleep that entire time. "What's going on?" he asked, pretending not to know, though he really had heard all the yelling upstairs as if it had all been happening right in front of him, causing him to feel bad, making him think this had all happened because of him. But he couldn't worry about that right now as all he wanted in that moment was nothing more than to quickly get Dib and Gaz away from the creature known as Membrane.

"We're getting out of here. And Gaz is coming with us. Do you think you can sit up enough to put these on?" Dib asked, placing the clean, dry clothes in front of Zim.

Sitting up with a small wince and taking the clothes from Dib, Zim merely nodded his head. "Are you going to be okay?" he then asked, looking up at the human worriedly.

Still in a fairly bad mood to say the very least, Dib nodded his head slowly. "I will be once I get you, me, and Gaz out of this fucking place..." he said before noticing Zim having some difficulty getting the clothes on. Just wanting to leave as soon as possible, Dib quickly helped him into them before nuzzling him apologetically. "I'm sorry to be rushing you so much when you're still hurt." he kissed Zim lightly.

But Zim could only shake his head, no. "No, we need to leave now." he agreed, jumping off the table and stumbling into Dib as he wasn't quite ready to do that just yet but knew they must leave. "L-Let's go." he said before wrapping his arm around Dib's shoulder for support.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Now, I know what you're all thinking. But please don't bash Membrane too much in your reviews, guys. He may seem like an ass now, but that's only because he's in quite a bit of shock at this point in the story. Believe it or not, we DO have future plans for him that don't portray him in quite so bad of a light. Though that won't be for a while still. So until then, just look forward to Chapter 21 next week and have a great rest of the week. =3 Now, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To Casykirby: Glad to hear it. =3 And, yes. Gaz IS gay. You'll see who for a little later on in the story. Wouldn't want to ruin the suprise for you, after all. X3 Anyways, we're glad to hear you enjoyed last weeks chapter so much and its...ahem...graphicness. XD Though trust me, we plan on getting MUCH more graphic in later chapters. XD So until then, here's the next chapter for you. And we hope it brightens your day today! 8D

To Watermelondrea: Yesh! X3 We certainly do love Gaz oh so much in this story. Really, she's not a bad character at all in all this. She's just very overprotective of Dib. As for Membrane, I think that's a line you should have saved for this chapter. Lol. XD Awesome new acronym. Though, when I first read it, I thought it said something else completely different. Because I don't always read all the letters in words before I say them to myself, I thought it said EAT (I only read the EA at first) and then NEW YORK CITY (because YNC decided to rearrange itself in my head as NYC. XD) Same thing happens when I see the word "Muffler" I usually see it as "Muffin" instead because I don't take the time to read the entire word. XD

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: YAYZ! Something new! I WIN! 8D Glad to hear you adore it so much then. X3

To Invader Ang: Lol. XD I was wondering where you'd gone. But I figured you'd pop up again sometime soon, as opposed to some of our OTHER readers who seem to have just fallen off the face of the Earth since two chapters ago. Hmm...*Shrug* Must have said something to offend them or something. -_-; But oh well. I'm glad to see we haven't lost you as a reader yet. 8D And don't worry. Otherwise, you've been a very loyal reader and reviewer so far. So you are forgiven for not reviewing last week. XD Anyways, yes, poor Zimmeh isn't feeling all too well at the moment. But just give him a few more chapters and he'll be feeling better again soon. XD And, yesh. The inuendoes in this make it all the more worth while. XD As for lesbian Gaz, I honestly have a REALLY hard time seeing her in any straight relationships, given most of the males on Earth are complete morons. (Save for Dib, of course and only a very few others) But oh well. She'll find love soon enough in this story. Or at least something close to love. XD I'm certain your sick obsessions are closely related to my own. XD And, yes. Some chapters come out fairly short. But really, I DO measure chapters out to be relatively the same length when I ficafy them. It's just hard to tell at some points. We're glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much still and hope you enjoy today's update just as much as previous ones. =3

To Vithian: We certainly hope not. =3 Though we hope it doesn't kill you either. ^^; Can't read if your dead, after all. If the addiction is strong enough, hopefully it will hold you over through Chapter 39 when we get to it. That's the chapter we expect to lose people at. But anyways. Membrane really isn't THAT bad of a character. I've actually written two other ZADR stories where he's NOT an ass at all. It really just depends on how people portray him in their writing. I can work either way with him. Now, don't go getting your hopes up too high. He's leaving for a long time in this story. But he WILL be coming back at a later time. Like it or not, he IS an important person in Dib's life and as such will have to be given a second chance at some point in the story. Besides, he plays kind of an important, secondary character role in all this more towards the end of the story. He's not what I would call cruel in this story. Just in a state of shock. He'll come around though. And staying focused on one story is how I get things done. Though honestly enough, I do get easily sidetracked. ^^; But I promised myself not to get sidetracked when working on this story. We're too far in. The only thing that could possibly prevent me from finishing this would be my own death. Or Notgonnadie's death. But so long as there's still air in our lungs, we shall continue! Besides, it's too much fun for either of us to give up on. XD In fact, I'd say this story actually distracts me OTHER stories I should be working on. But how could I stay focused on anything else when there are so many opportunities to torture both Zim and Dib in this story? XD Zim falling in the pond water was only just the beginning. From here, the torment we put them through only continues to build. So hopefully you'll continue to find enjoyment in the evilness of our minds. (Evil laugh) XD Thanks for reading and reviewing. ^_^

To SuperSaiyanKiri: Lol. XD Oh, really? We weren't exactly going for a cuteness overload in that last chapter, but if that's what you're looking for, just wait until future chapters when we're actually TRYING to pull out that element in our writing. XD I'd say Chapter 26 will satisfy that need when we get to it. XD But anyways. Yes, oh so gay is Gaz. Honestly, could you see her hooking up with any of the males on Earth though? No? I didn't think so! She's too smart for that. XD As for Membrane, you just gotta look for the right stories. I've written at least two other stories where he's not a homophobic ass wipe. And read a few others. And really, in this story, he's only that way in the beginning. We have plans for him in the future where he's less homophobic than you would think. He's just in a state of shock at the moment. But, he'll get over it. XD Lol. You know, I was actually watching that exact episode on TV when I first read your comment. XD It was perfect timing. Anyways, we hope you enjoy this update for now. =3 And hope to hear again from you soon. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD I'm not sure if that damn is a good sign or not, but I sure do hope it is. XD It was actually a pond Zim fell into, but same difference, I guess. A body of water. There. Let's go with that! XD And, yes. Poor Zimmeh is hurting very much still. He'll pull through it though in a few more chapters. =3 And the reason we're not doing DA updates any longer is because the people on DA don't take the time to read my author's notes and give proper credit where it's due. They either credit one of us and not the other or they just plain don't give credit at all when they post fanart for it. So that's why we started the website. Besides, DA actually REMOVED our preview images, so the website is the only place you'll actually be able to FIND said preview images. And, if you look in my ZADR Orange Fanart Contest journal, you can also find all the pieces made for the story linked there as well. So don't worry. They're still there. DA just sucks because they won't let us post the artwork with the chapters. The website has a special fanart section though. So fear not. We wouldn't make a website for the story without including a section for the fanart. =3 As for your weekly question, I'd have to say Zim lurves Dib very, very, VERY much in this story. His only problem is actually getting that point across to Dib because he has his doubts at time. I don't think it can be put into a number. It's basically infinite in this story. So thank you for the cookie. (Noms on my half) And we hope to hear again from you soon. =3 But who am I kidding. XD We ALWAYS hear from you. You've been one of our most loyal readers since practically the beginning. XD So much love to you. (Hugs)


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Woot! 8D You guys are the best. So many reviews this past week, makes us feel lurved. =3 Anyways, as mentioned last week, today's chapter be dedicated to whoever sent in our 100th review, and that person was...(Drum roll) angel-winged wolfess! =3 So congratulations on catching that, angel-winged wolfess. I be working on your request for the first kiss scene in the story slowly but surely. And much love to the rest of you who reviewed also. You guys rock. 8D Anyways, as I do every week, I must thank those of you who have faved or added the story to your story alert list and remind you guys that feedback is much appreciated. With that said, let me keep you waiting no longer. Here be Chapter 21 of ZADR Orange! 8D Hope you all enjoy!

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Computer: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Gaz: Both of us.

Beta: Notgonnadie

Helping to steady Zim, Dib reached for the blanket he had wrapped Zim in earlier and his trench coat to pull back on. Then, draping the blanket around Zim, he merely scooped him up into his arms. "You shouldn't be walking yet. I'll carry you to the base. Besides, you'll be needing what little energy you do have right now for when we get back to your base. I'm not so sure your computer is going to let me in again." he sighed, dropping his gaze to the ground.

Nodding his head, Zim nuzzled himself into Dib's chest. "Mmm...He'll let us in...You just gotta know how to talk to him. He doesn't take you as an authority figure is all. I bet Gaz could get to him, what with all her gaming knowledge." he said, doing his best to stay awake as he was carried up the stairs to where he saw Gaz waiting for them.

Holding a few suitcases, Gaz's gaze seemed to be locked on the floor as she stared down at it both sadly and angrily. "Can we leave now?" she asked, just wanting to get out of there.

Dib merely nodded his head. "Yeah..." he said, shifting Zim in his arms a bit before opening the door for them to leave.

Too weak to bother doing any more, Zim held limply to Dib's body as the other carried him outside.

Walking silently next to Dib, Gaz could hear their old front door slam shut behind them and the vast array of locks set. Then, as soon as they were off the yard, the electric fence was up and running, as expected.

Merely holding Zim tighter to himself, Dib glared down at the ground in front of them as they headed for the base.

Upon arriving, however, the lawn gnomes turned to glare at the three trespassers, just daring them to try and step foot on their yard.

Feeling just a little bit intimidated by them, Dib stopped in his tracks. "U-Uhm...Zim?" he looked at the other for help.

Signaling for the other to put him down, Zim shakily stood up with the help of Dib before reaching back behind himself to press the top panel on his PAK, the gnomes instantly deactivating. "Now...We just gotta get computer...to open the door." he panted out before wrapping his arms around Dib, wanting to be picked back up before he fell over or passed out again.

Scooping Zim back up into his arms, Dib could sense that the other was fading again. "Then let's hurry." he said before making his way up to the door with Zim in his arms and Gaz right behind him.

"Now what? You brought MORE of you?" the computer complained as they approached the door.

Glaring at the door, Zim bared his teeth. "Open the door!" he demanded but his voice was weak and strained, causing his computer to scoff.

"Nice actor. Master doesn't sound like that." the computer said, ignoring Zim's order.

Growing annoyed now, Gaz growled and punched the door hard, getting the computer's attention. "HEY, YOU! OPEN THIS DOOR, OR I'LL SMASH IT IN AND THEN DELETE ALL YOUR DOWNLOADED SOFTWARE AND CUT YOUR NET CABLES!" she threatened the uncooperative computer menacingly.

Seeming to shrink back at her threat, the computer was quick to open the door for them, falling silent at her fury.

Having also shrunk back a bit at Gaz's threat, Dib was a little surprised she was able to make the computer open the door for them so quickly. Hesitating a moment, he slowly took a few cautious steps inside behind Gaz before making his way over to the couch to lay Zim down with the blanket still wrapped tightly around him. Then, kneeling down on the ground next to Zim, Dib went ahead and removed his wig and contacts for him before bringing up a hand to pet his antennae back gently a few times, trying to make things as comfortable as possible for the other. "How are you feeling?" he asked, knowing that he had put Zim through a lot by moving him.

Too stressed out and in moderate pain to purr, Zim merely sighed out softly at the small touch. "Room's down the hall..." he addressed Gaz, looking up at her and pointing weakly, nodding his head slightly in the direction of her new room.

Looking back at Gaz himself, Dib shifted his eyes over to where Zim was pointing before looking back at her. "Are you going to be okay finding it on your own?" he asked, unsure whether she needed any help with her luggage.

"Yeah, yeah...It's not brain surgery, Dib." Gaz said before turning to head in the direction Zim had pointed.

"W-Well, if you need any help, just call." Dib called after her, watching as she left the room before turning back to face Zim and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Thanks for letting Gaz stay here with us..." he thanked the other in a soft voice.

Zim merely nodded before reaching up to tug at Dib. "You made a fine Irken today, Dib..." he said, reaching to the PAK on Dib's back and pressing one of the panels, making the entire disguise vanish. "But now...Zim is tired...W-Will you sleep with me?" he asked, just wanting to curl up on the couch with Dib.

Blushing at Zim's request, Dib, after a moment, nodded his head slowly. "S-Sure..." he carefully moved the Irken over a bit so he would have room to get on the couch, resting the other comfortably against his chest and pulling the blanket tightly over the both of them. "W-Well, goodnight..." he said softly to the other before letting the need for sleep start to take hold of him.

"Gooo night, Dib..." Zim mumbled, closing his eyes and falling into a much needed sleep.

Resting a cheek against the Irken's head, Dib slowly let his own eyes close after a few moments as his mind easily drifted off into its own heavy sleep.

Meanwhile, Gaz had found her way to the spare room quite easily and was surprised to see how clean and functional it was. There was even a small, private bathroom and a decent sized closet in it. Nodding to herself, somewhat satisfied with her new living arrangements, Gaz went ahead and began unpacking her things so she could set up the room to be more fitting to herself.

Back out in the living room, Dib had meanwhile taken to gripping at Zim's clothes, shivering and hiding his face away in part of the blanket.

Sleeping peacefully nonetheless, Zim himself had by now fallen into too deep of a sleep to even be bothered by any of Dib's shifting about.

Several hours passed, the two of them sleeping for the most part peacefully until Dib finally blinked his eyes partly open to find the room still fairly dark despite the sun just beginning to rise outside.

Zim, however, didn't budge, seeming to be in a somewhat hibernative sleep for the time being as his body healed itself.

So sitting up carefully, trying not to disturb Zim too much, Dib shifted his gaze to have a look about the dark room. That's when he heard a small clinking noise coming from the kitchen followed by a thump. Jumping at hearing somebody rummaging through the kitchen, Dib shifted Zim off of himself before standing up to see who was in there. "G-Gaz?" her name slipped past his lips as he went to go check.

Looking up from the table at the mention of her name, Gaz stared at the half awake Dib in the doorway. "Yeah?" she asked, holding a gallon of milk and bowl, which she was busy filling with cereal. Smiling at Dib's confused look, she held the milk and cereal box up for him to see. "Who knew Zim had human food." she said, having been pleasantly surprised by finding it in the fridge herself.

Relieved to see that it was just Gaz, Dib sighed before smiling back at her. "It must be left over from the breakfast Zim made me yesterday. Speaking of which..." his sentence trailed off before he peeked back out into the living room where Zim was sleeping. "I don't think Zim will be waking up anytime soon, but just in case, maybe I should make him something to eat for when he does." he said, making his way over to the fridge to look through for anything he was pretty sure Zim would be able to eat.

Munching on her cereal, Gaz merely shrugged. "Well, whatever..." she said before sighing. Despite trying to act like things were normal, it was obvious she was hurting.

Smile falling away, Dib could tell just by looking at her that she had had just as rough a night as he had, not that she would ever admit to it.

Finishing off her cereal, Gaz then stood up to leave. "I'm going to see about a job at the game shop...I spend enough time there...They've already asked me several times if I would work for them..." she informed him before heading on out.

"R-Really? Y-You really don't have to. I'm sure Zim has enough provisions to take care of all three of us. U-Unless you really want to..." he wasn't sure what Gaz's reason was for all of a sudden wanting to take this job.

Nodding her head slowly, Gaz merely took on one of her old scowls again. "Like I'd want to be stuck here all day with you two fairies." she said before turning away from Dib, a smirk clearly coming to her face now.

Blushing at her comment about them, Dib sighed before smiling again and returning to his previous task of making breakfast for Zim. Pulling out some leftover waffles from the morning before, he went ahead and placed them into what he assumed was the microwave to warm them back up.

Meanwhile, Gaz quickly got herself dressed back in her room and left the house shortly after finishing her meal without so much as saying a word, leaving Dib and the sleeping Zim alone in the base.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Next chapter may include a little of what some of you have been waiting for. So keep your eyes open for Chapter 22 next week. =3 Now, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To angel-winged-wolfess: Well, hello and congratulations on catching our 100th review. 8D I believe this be the first time we've talked (if you don't count the PM exchange we had last week XD). So let me welcome you to the group of other people who review our story. XD We're glad to hear you're enjoying our story so much and hope you continue to read it. =3 Compared with other ZADR stories, I think we actually DO rush the beginning a little bit. XD And it's definitely OOC. But in the way of plot, we have much to offer you. =3 I DID notice that you added the story to your story alert list about a week before you commented, so I thank you for that. =3 The story is updated weekly, so the best time to check back for updates will probably be Tuesdays as I try to update the same day of the week depending on which of those days is my least busy. It used to be Mondays during the summer, but since school started, Tuesdays became more reliable to me. So they'll more than likely be your best bet until winter break comes. =3 Then I may switch back to Mondays for a while. We'll see. Thanks again for commenting and we hope to hear back from you again soon. =3 (Noms on cookie).

To Cat Human: Well, hello. I believe you're new as well. =3 So nice of you to join us. Honestly, looking back at the reviews we received, you missed the 100th by less than a minute. So, if you'd like as a consolation, you can consider the chapter dedicated to you as well. =3 But angel-winged-wolfess' review was the first one to show up in my message box, so I had to give it to her. Anyways, we're so glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much and thank you for reviewing. =3 Here be the next chapter for your viewing pleasure and we hope to hear back from you again soon. =3

To Watermelondrea: Lol. XD Well, the drama is what keeps you people reading it. So we're glad to hear you enjoyed it so much. XD As for Membrane, we definitely have future plans for hum. But until then, he's going bye bye for a while now. We'll run back into him in later chapters. X3

To Invader Ang: Sorry, but you missed it by at least three reviews. And, no. Angel-winged-wolfess claimed her prize in a PM to me. I don't have plans to give out anymore than what I offered. If she HADN'T claimed it though, it definitely would have went to Cat Human, who missed it by mere seconds. So better luck to you next time. I'll probably do this again when we get around to the 200th review. Whether I'll mention it before hand or not however depends on my certainty of which chapter we'll receive it in. Last weeks was just lucky because nobody claimed it before I posted the next chapter and I was certain we wouldn't receive zero reviews. This one may come faster though seeing as how we pick up more and more reviewers each and every week. But anyways, getting back to the story, Gaz would definitely have to be with somebody who enjoys video games as much as she does and isn't afraid of her in the least. I'm fairly certain we've got the perfect character picked out for her. But that won't come for a while still. We're glad to hear you enjoyed last weeks Membrane VS Membrane confrontation and hope you enjoy today's chapter just as much even though there's less drama in it than last week's chapter. XD But that doesn't mean it's any less interesting! XD So here be Chapter 21 for you and we hope you look forward to Chapter 22 as well. =3

To Vithian: Yeah. Sorry about that. You missed by at least four reviews. And, yes. Angel-winged-wolfess got it followed by Cat Human mere seconds after she sent it in. And, yes. Membrane was bound to kick them out of the house eventually. But don't worry. They've got Zim to house them for a while now. Membrane will play of bigger role later on. Right now we're in the process of working out HOW though. Dib still has a few issues to work through before facing him. I'm sure we'll get to it eventually though. We always do. And I agree with you. Membrane is pretty awesome. =3 I just wish more people would stop portraying him in such a bad light. He needs more good roles. Because he's not a bad character in the show. Just ignorant. Like most of humanity. Lol. Hmmm...I suppose you could continue to read as a zombie. Perhaps Chapter 39 will just kill you and then bring you back to life because you're already the living dead. If you say you'll get through Chapter 39 though, then I'll believe you. =3 But no lemon-ade before Chapter 34! You have to live with lime-ade. Thanks again for the review. =3 Hope to hear from you again soon (as a person who's not a zombie yet though XD).

To Meta-Knight-1-fan: Yes. Poor Dibbles and Gaz be very saddened now by Membrane's disowning them. D8 But Zim would never do that. At least, he'd never do that to Dib. I'll have to get back to you on how he handles having Gaz around the house. Or perhaps I'll just let the next few chapters speak for themselves. To say the very least, I don't think Gaz really trusts Zim, which makes for interesting plot lines! 8D Anyways, it's not so much that Membrane doesn't care for them as it is he's just gone into a bit of shock. He'll come back into their lives as a more understanding father later in the story. Because we don't TOTALLY hate him. And, yes. XD Dib has picked up many skills in the way of arguing from his past arguments with Zim. XD We're glad to hear you enjoyed that aspect of the story, so here be more awesomeness for you. Though there's not really any arguing in today's chapter. ^^;

To SuperSaiyanKiri: Membrane's explosion was bound to happen eventually. He seems to keep his cool throughout the majority of the show, so given this takes place 5 years later, you have to assume he's just about reached his limit. Anyways, yes. Tak be awesome. But you'll see who Gaz ends up with later in the story. XD I'm not giving it away until we get there, even if you guess it. Not that it's that hard to figure out given I say what the pairings are in the summary of this story. XD Lol. I wouldn't call 6 just a few reviews off. Compared to Cat Human who missed it by only a few seconds, you didn't even come close to it. XD But if you'd like another try at it, I'll probably do it again when we reach our 200th review. So try to catch that one if you can. X3 And yayz for super special bars of chocolate! 8D (dance) We shall certainly enjoy them. =3 And we hope you enjoy Chapter 21. owo

To Casykirby: Lol. XD So far at least. I think you'll like some of the future chapters to come more though. X3 We'll see. Thanks for commenting. =3

To Sapcoat: Well, hello, new reviewer. =3 So nice of you to join us. Thank you for taking the time to send us a review. We really appreciate it. =3 It is quite easy to get lost in this story. XD Happens to our readers all the time. But I'm glad you were able to pull yourself out of it long enough to comment. Anyways, we're glad to hear you enjoy the fic so much and are quite flattered you would consider this story to rank amongst your top 10/5 (Whichever one it is. XD) And no need to thank us. We really do enjoy writing this story. It originally started as just something fun we were working on. We never imagined it would come this far or receive as much admiration by people as it has. So thank you for the kind words. =3 Hope this chapter brightens your day some more. 8D

To Illisandria Carthain: You're one of them, at least. =3 And we always look forward to receiving your reviews. 8D So thank you for taking the time each week to write us. =3 And we're flattered that you'd say it's our story that inspires you. ^/^ Anyways, as we've told other people, Membrane's just in shock at the moment. How he reacted was a little immature, yes, but had been coming for a while if you really think about it. He's usually always so calm with Dib and Gaz in the show. So 5 years later, you gotta suspect that everything he's bottled up those past years is just about to boil over. I think he's allowed at least one explosion in his lifetime when it comes to Dib and Gaz. He'll come back around though eventually. As for your weekly question, we don't really get into what happens to their mom in this story. All we really mention at some point is that she's dead. I don't recall giving a reason. But it is pretty obvious throughout that Dib seems to take it the hardest. It's kind of the root of his future psychological problems in this story. He has adverse reactions to it every time somebody mentions anything about his mother or motherhood in general. But that will make more sense a little later in the story. And Membrane wasn't necessarily a bad husband. He did love her, and it was her death that caused him to bury himself in his work and become somewhat neglectful of Dib and Gaz. I imagine it hurts him somewhat to look at them when they both remind him of her. Thanks again for reviewing. And yayz! 8D Milk to go with our cookies! ^w^

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Lulz. X3 Well, thank you . We're glad to hear it.

To heartofstone15: Hello, new reviewer. So nice of you to join us today. =3 Indeed Membrane will be regretting kicking both Gaz and Dib out of the house. But not for the reason you may think. XD We'll get to that later in the story though. =3 For now, here's an update. Hope you enjoy. =3

To kaoru1174: Well, hello there. You kind of disappeared for a while there on us. XD Glad to hear back from you though. Zim shall be feeling better next chapter. Much, MUCH better. X3 And I also enjoyed writing that part between Dib and Gaz with Notgonnadie. It's always fun writing something your readers wouldn't expect to see happen between two characters. I figure, like it or not, they both ARE siblings and therefore important people in each others lives. So they must care for each other on SOME level. I don't think they're completely heartless. The fight does hold a bit of sadness to it, but don't worry. Membrane WILL come around eventually. Just might take a while in the story. But until then, there's much more to enjoy about this story. Like the fanarts. =3 I'm glad you were able to get around to them all. Admittedly, they're a little scrambled at the moment over on DA. But hopefully we'll have that fixed soon. As for the fanart you tried to create, we'd love to see anything you submit. 8D So if you ever make any, please do let us know. We'll add you to our fanart contest we're holding for this story. 8D Who knows. You might place in it. You never know. But anyways, here be an update for you. =3 We hope you enjoy. 8D

To maliceofhumansacrifice: Oh, so many new reviewers we're getting this week. 8D Hello and welcome. Thank you for taking the time to write us a review. We're glad to hear you find our story so enjoyable and cute. ^.^ The suspense and drama in this story is really what keeps you people reading it. Besides, we've both got WAY too many ideas running through our heads all at once. So this story is riddled with plot bunnies that jump all around. Thank you for taking the time to read our randomness. =3 We really appreciate it and hope you'll continue to read as we add more and more updates. =3


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Ack! DX So sorry for the long-ass wait this week, you guys. I had a MAJOR paper randomly dropped on me by one of my teachers, and she only gave us until our next class period to get it done. DX So I had to spend the last 3 days working on it. And the worst part was that we didn't even get to pick our topics. She did it for us. I got stuck writing an 8 page paper on Togo of all countries. Ugh...-_-; But at least it's over now and I can get back to posting. So here be Chapter 22 of ZADR Orange for those of you who have been waiting oh so patiently. =3 Much love to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert list. And remember, feedback be much appreciated. So we hope you all enjoy. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Computer: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gaz: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

As Zim continued to sleep on for a while longer, the sweet smell of heated waffles slowly wafted into the living room. "Mmm..." he smiled, licking his lips before then rolling over and crashing onto the floor with a loud thud.

Jumping at the sound of Zim falling onto the floor followed by a pained groan from the other, Dib rushed back over to the entrance to the living room to peek out on the other again. "Zim!" he exclaimed before making his way over to the fallen Irken, kneeling down on the ground next to him to help him back up. "Are you okay?" he asked, sending him a concerned look.

"Mmm..." Zim merely grumbled, snuggling back up to Dib. "Zim is too tired to wake up..." he yawned before hearing his stomach growl loudly, causing his eyes to snap open. "Th-Then again..."he said before offering one of his hands to Dib.

Carefully helping Zim back to his feet, Dib seated him on the couch where he would be more comfortable. "Wait here. I'll be right back." he told the other before heading back into the kitchen, exiting a minute later with a plate of waffles for Zim. "Here. I reheated these back up for you. Sorry I couldn't make fresh ones. I never was all that great at cooking, and I highly doubt you would have wanted me poking around in your kitchen trying to figure out how everything works in there." he smiled weakly at the other.

But Zim didn't seem to care as he took the waffles from Dib and greedily began shoving them into his mouth.

"Woah! Slow down, Zim. You're going to make yourself sick if you eat them that fast." Dib held up his hands so as to make the other stop for a moment.

Swallowing down what he had in his mouth painfully, Zim began coughing afterwords before gasping for air. "S-Sorry...I was hungry..." he said between gasps.

"Well, eat up then. There's plenty more still left in the fridge that we can warm up if you're still hungry." Dib smiled at him.

Smiling back, Zim quickly finished off his plate before setting it down on the floor next to the couch. "Thank you..." he thanked the other, feel a lot better now that he had gotten something to eat.

Smiling even more, Dib then leaned in to nuzzle his face to Zim's. "You're welcome...So, are you still hungry?" he asked, wanting make Zim feel as comfortable as possible.

Zim just shook his head, however. "No...I'm good." he said before stretching out and yawning. "I feel a lot better too..." he said as even his antennae twitched and stretched themselves out.

Sighing in some relief, Dib's entire body seemed to go lax at that bit of information. "Well, that's good. I was really worried about you yesterday." he sent Zim another concerned look.

Antennas drooping at Dib's words, Zim instantly dropped his gaze away to the ground. "I'm sorry I got you in trouble...Your-That THING is a real piece of work." he then glared in the direction of Dib's house.

"Wh-What? N-No! No! You didn't get me in trouble! G-Gaz and I were just tired of him never listening to us...It was bound to happen eventually..." Dib didn't want Zim to think that any of what happened the day before had been his fault.

Hugging Dib tightly, Zim just wanted to make things right for them again. "You can both stay here as long as you want, you know..." he reminded the other, feeling that it was the least he could do for them as he still felt like it was partially his fault.

Body drooping, Dib merely leaned up against Zim a bit at those words. "I think that may be for a lot longer than I had originally planned on staying...But thanks..." he leaned up nonetheless to place a small kiss on Zim's cheek as a show of gratitude for agreeing to let them stay.

Pulling Dib onto the couch with him, Zim couldn't help but purr at the small kiss. "You know, Dib...We ARE alone right now..." he whispered almost seductively to the other as he nuzzled the boy affectionately. "Anything special you want to do?" he asked, smirking up at him expectantly.

Blushing at the Irken's question, Dib could only stutter out a response nervously. "W-Well...Well, I...Uhm...A-Actually, yeah, there is." he said, looking up at Zim more seriously now. "I've decided I want to go through with the change, Zim. I'm sick of looking like my dad, and I don't think I'd have any regrets if I went through with it." he stared Zim straight in the eyes to let the other know he meant business.

Surprised by Dib's words, Zim blushed as a small smile slowly formed across his face. "R-Really? Th-This is GREAT!" he exclaimed, glomping onto Dib so he could nuzzle him even more.

Blushing at the small nuzzle, Dib nodded his head assuredly. "Yeah. I'm ready to do this whenever you are." he informed the other, knowing the sooner they did this the better.

Grinning wide, Zim shot up in his spot. "Then we shall do it now!" he said excitedly, rolling off the couch and dragging Dib behind him by his hand. "To the lab!" he pointed dramatically at the ceiling.

"Uhm...Will it hurt? I mean, what exactly will you be doing to me?" Dib's serious demeanor was suddenly replaced by a rather nervous one.

"I'm not sure, Dib. I HOPE it won't. I'll try to make it as painless as I can. But I've got to change your whole genetic make up." Zim explained to the other as he headed to the elevator with him.

Eyes growing wide at this information, Dib nearly pulled his hand back. "WHAT? You mean, you've never done this before?" he suddenly went from nervous to scared shitless now.

"Well, never to a human...But you're somewhat similar to a Vortian, right?" Zim stopped in his tracks to glance back at the other.

Mouth hanging open and lower eyelids of one of his eyes twitching, Dib had by now completely paled. "How would I know?" he sent Zim an incredulous look.

"Oh right...But don't worry, Dib. I've dissected many humans before. I can figure it out. " Zim smiled again, grabbing Dib's arm and dragging him off to the lab. "I just gotta infuse the proper DNA structure is all." he made an attempt to reassure the other that everything would be alright.

Dib, however, had at this point lost all the feeling in his legs now and was literally being dragged behind Zim.

Giving Dib's hand a tight squeeze, Zim pulled the human to him and kissed him deeply on the lips. "Don't worry, Dibbers. Zim shall keep you safe." he promised, smiling at the other once they had broken their kiss.

Seeming to snap back to life at the deep kiss, Dib blinked his eyes and blushed before looking away to the ground nervously but nodding his head nonetheless. "O-Okay...S-So long as you at least have an idea of what you'll be doing..." he gave in somewhat, knowing that if he was going to have this done, he'd need to trust Zim.

"And I already know what to do. You'll be looking like the disguise, right?" Zim just wanted to make sure it was exactly what the other wanted before starting.

Nodding his head slowly, Dib dropped his gaze to the ground. "Y-Yeah...I don't want to erase ALL of my human features...J-Just the ones that remind me of my dad..." he said before looking back up at the other.

Stroking Dib's hair in a playful manner, Zim could only smile at that answer. "Now, I need you to lay down on that table and let me put you to sleep. It would be very bad if you woke up, so I have to use a lot of this stuff." he said, leading Dib over to a medical table before pointed behind him at a large tank of gas.

Sending the tank of gas a nervous glance, Dib merely nodded his head again and did as he was told, climbing up onto the table to lie down. "And you're sure that stuff won't hurt me?" he asked, wanting to make sure.

Nodding his head assuredly, Zim pulled up the tank closer to the table. "I'm positive. It is from your own Earth hospitals after all." he informed the other.

"Hmm? Really?" Dib asked, lifting his head to look at the tank, wondering where Zim had gotten it from now.

"Of course." Zim reassured him one last time before laying him back on the table. "Now, just relax." he instructed the other before pulling over a tube, which he attached to Dib's mouth and nose, watching as he began to loose consciousness.

Feeling his eyelids drooping as he blinked them closed slowly, Dib could see his vision blurring more and more with each blink. But before passing out completely, he reached up one hand to take one of Zim's own hands to squeeze gently for reassurance.

Returning the squeeze with a squeeze of his own, Zim smiled down at Dib as he finally passed out on the table in his lab. "He should be out for...Uhh...Let's see...24 hours at least...before I need to give him more." he said assuredly to himself before nodding and quickly rushing around to get the equipment he would be needing. He figured he should have Dib at least half done by about 6 o'clock if he worked without breaks. "Better get working." he then said under his breath to himself, pulling on a pair of gloves.

Working for the next 6 hours, Zim had no knowledge of Gaz returning home around 4:00 in the afternoon.

Entering the base with a bag of some sort of fast food in hand, Gaz came to find the place completely empty now. "Dib? Zim!" she called out their names, looking about the place before just shrugging it off and heading back to her room to drop off her things, returning to search the base for them once she had done that.

Meanwhile, back with Zim, said Irken was working like a mad scientist, wearing very thick goggles to protect his eyes and really big gloves which were being used to handle the chemicals. To top it all off, he wore a sort of face mask to keep himself from inhaling any of the toxic fumes.

Working diligently and without pause, Zim merely ignored how hungry he was beginning to grow as he REALLY needed a snack soon to keep up his energy.

Little did he know that back upstairs, Gaz was beginning to grow annoyed looking for them.

"Zim? Dib?" Gaz called again, entering into the kitchen now. Noticing the elevator nearby, she without hesitation stepped inside it before looking up towards the ceiling to address the computer. "Hey, can you take me down to whatever level it is Zim and Dib are on?" she asked before standing back and crossing her arms.

"Why should-" the computer began but stopped itself upon realizing it was Gaz standing in the elevator. "Uhh... Yes, ma'am. Right away." it started up the elevator, which lowered her down to the lab level of the base.

Standing back as she waited for the elevator to take her down, Gaz stepped out once the doors had opened into the room Zim and Dib were in. Then approaching Zim from behind, she tried to get a look at what he was working on. "What are you doing?" she asked before she could even see for herself.

"AHHH!" Zim shrieked at having her sneak up behind him, causing him to almost drop what he had been holding before turning on her. "DO YOU MIND? THIS IS VERY DELICATE WORK I'M DOING!" he screamed at her angrily, mostly just irritable because he really wanted a snack now and also because at this point in the procedure, Dib's life could be in jeopardy if he did anything wrong.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Hope this chapter was to your guys' liking, especially considering so many of you were wanting to know whether Dib would actually go through with this procedure or not. Anyways, next chapter will hopefully be up in a few days. Sorry again for the wait on this week's chapter. But just look at it this way. The next update will probably come a lot faster. So you have more to look forward to soon. =3 Now, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To maliceofhumansacrifice: Lol. Well, you'll certainly get plenty of randomness when it comes to reading this story. =3 And Gaz really is awesome. I never really saw her as being a completely heartless bitch, so we decided to portray her as having a softer side towards Dib. Though, that's not to say she's completely out of character, as you'll see in a chapter or so. XD But until then, we hope you enjoy this update. And she really doesn't get enough attention in other people's writing. She deserves so much more given the fact that she's just plain awesome. XD

To Meta-Knight-1-fan: Lol. XD Well, a job at a game shop seems the only really appropriate job for Gaz. XD Congratulations on getting your own job as well. 8D And, no. No Gir for a while still. Remember, Zim told Dib over breakfast that Gir was at a Taco Fest.

To Watermelondrea: Well, we try to keep Gaz somewhat in character, but honestly, I never saw her as the heartless bitch some people try to make her out to be in the show. I think she cares about Dib on some level. She certainly doesn't think he's crazy. Just annoying. So, we're glad you enjoyed the way we portrayed her in that last chapter. =3 Hope today's chapter is just as enjoyable despite its lateness. 83

To heartofstone15: Well, here's the next chapter for you then. =3 Sorry for its lateness this week. Really though, not much happens for a while now. The calmness will be here for a while until the real storm strikes. That's not to say these next few chapters won't be interesting though. X3 In fact, they're some of our favorites. X3 So I hope that doesn't burst your bubble too much. XD We kind of get back into the plot with these next few chapters.

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Lol. XD Glad to hear it. And don't worry too much about Zim. As you can see from this chapter, he's already beginning to feel better again. =3 So thanks for reviewing. 8D

To kaoru1174: Lol. XD No problem. I consider you to be one of our regulars, so missing a few chapters every once in a while is just fine. 83 We're glad to see you're back though. 8D And we love our readers, so we're glad you feel welcome here whenever you respond. You guys really are the ones who keep up going. 8D But anyways, I can imagine Dib and Gaz getting along on some level. After all, they have their moments, even in the show. You just gotta keep an open mind and look for them. Trust me. They're there. As for Zim, as I'm sure you can see in this chapter, he's feeling MUCH better now. But that doesn't mean the sweet little parts will end. If anything, they're only just beginning. =3 Do whatever you'd like so far as fanart is concerned. We love anything we can get. Just make sure to send it to at least one of us if you do manage to make a picture for the story that you like. =3 We appreciate anything anybody sends in to us. With that said, we hope you enjoy this update just as much as you have the others, and we hope to hear from you again soon. =3 And, yes. We certainly do try to keep our chapters as interesting as possible. XD

To Vithian: Well, we had to slow the story down somewhat to work on developing the plot some more. But rest assured the action will pick back up soon enough. =3 And trust me, even with these small breaks in the action, you'll be plenty exhausted by the time we finish writing this story. We're still at only just the beginning. So much more is planned to happen, I couldn't even begin to list the events to come. You'll just have to wait and see for yourself. 83 But anyways. Yes, Dib has issues. Oh, such issues he has. But it's his issues that make this story interesting. XD Membrane is quite original, and there's a lot to be said for him if you just take the time to work with his character. Same goes for Gaz. You CAN'T really single him out He's just like everyone else in the show. So don't bash on him too hard. I'm sorry I can't provide you with lemon-ade just yet. But we didn't want to rush into those parts too quickly in the story. So you'll just have to put up with the lime-ade for now. X3 And that goes doubly for your zombie self as well. XD As for when the TAGR comes into play, you'll just have to wait and see. X3 Gaz plays an important secondary character in this story, but Tak isn't needed quite yet. She'll come into the story just a little bit later. So until then, we hope you enjoy the current chapters to come. Thanks again for commenting. Until next time! ~

To angel-winged-wolfess: No problem. =3 You earned it. We'll have to see about the next contest though. It's fair game if you manage to catch it again. Especially if I don't get around to announcing the contest before we reach that point. So, if you'd like to give someone else a chance, I would suggest you try to keep track of and avoid that 200th review. Otherwise, you might end up with another prize. XD But anyways, the reasons Membrane will end up regretting kicking Dib and Gaz out I doubt anybody will get. XD Let's just say something happens to him that makes him regret it. XD But you won't find out about that until later in the story. For now, just try to enjoy the plot development happening here. And I'll hopefully talk to you again soon. =3

To SuperSaiyanKiri: Make sure you take the time to let everything soak in before moving on to the next chapter. Remember, we mentioned a few chapters back that Gir was at a Taco Fest. Zim and Dib had a conversation about it over breakfast. He won't be back for at least a few more chapters. And, 3 is a few in my opinion. Anything above that isn't even close. So HAH! XD Anyways, go pay your kitty some attention. They do tend to be rather clingy at times, I know. I have my own and have raised several litters of them in the past. So once they've gotten their fill, you can come back and read this new chapter. =3

To Casykirby: Hey, no problem at all. =3 Like a few others, I consider you to be one of our regulars. And you DO tend to get reviews in almost every week. So don't even worry about missing a chapter here or there. It's no big deal. We're just glad to have you back. And we wouldn't want you getting in even more trouble by sneaking on to review when you're already grounded. So take your time. The chapters will still be here when you're allowed to get back online again. =3 But anyways, we're glad to hear you enjoyed the last chapter so much. 8D And I already told Cat Human they could consider the last chapter dedicated to them as well. But they didn't review this week. So, whatever. I would draw something for them, but I've already got way too much on my plate as it is between trying to get other requests finished and working on homework. Perhaps they'll catch the 200th review and get something then, but right now, I really can't work on anything else. Besides, I have NO means of contacting them at the moment as it stands. So it's kind of hard to offer something to someone I can't send a PM to.

To Sapcoat: Well, we're glad to hear it. 8D We really do try hard to keep this story as interesting as possible. =3 So receiving reviews like that from you guys is really encouraging. Thank you. =3 And we're happy to hear we were able to brighten your day after a long day of testing. =3 We'd really love to hear from you each and every chapter. Though, we won't force you. XD You will get a response for every review you send in though. X3 So we hope you enjoy that. 8D Until next time!~


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Alright! Like I promised, here be Chapter 23 of ZADR Orange ON TIME this week! 8D And see? I told you guys I wouldn't keep you all waiting too horribly long for the next chapter. =3 So much thanks to those of you who have faved or added the story to your story alert lists. Without further ado, here be your next update. =3 Hope you all enjoy! 8D And remember, feedback is much appreciated! 8D

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gaz: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Glaring at Zim, Gaz finally looked to the work he was doing. "What are you-" she began to ask again but cut herself short upon realizing that it was Dib he was working on. Eyes growing wide, she shoved him aside to get a better look. "Just what the fuck do you think you're doing to him?" she screamed.

"WAIT, GAZ! NO! DON'T MESS WITH HIM! IT'S CRITICAL!" Zim grabbed her before she could do any harm to him. At the moment, Dib's chest was cut open, and a very small pair of antennas had formed on the top of his head. His skin had also turned a vague green color, and his glasses sat on a table next to the rest of the equipment.

Turning on Zim, Gaz grasped him by the front of his uniform top and shoved him roughly against the wall. "You have five seconds to explain exactly what the fuck my brother is doing laying cut open on a table in your lab before I do something to make you wish you had never been born." she growled out, eyes narrowing even more on him.

"NO! NO! He's delicate right now! I have to give him this!" Zim struggled to pull away, frantically shooting worried glances back and forth between Dib and Gaz. "He wanted this! Didn't you notice that he looked different last night? That was a trial to see if he'd like it and want to make it permanent!" he spit out as quickly as he could so Gaz would let him go.

Growling lowly, glancing back at Dib herself, Gaz was unsure whether to believe the other or not before she finally released him. "Whatever it is you're doing to him, you better hope he comes out of alive because I swear, if he doesn't, I'll punch you so hard your head will spin right off of your shoulders." she warned him before allowing him to return to work on Dib.

Nodding his head vigorously, Zim jerked away from her when he could and quickly made his way back over to Dib, injecting a small needle into his arm. "He'll be fine, Gaz." he finally said once he had injected what he needed to inject into Dib.

Continuing to glare at him nonetheless, Gaz just crossed her arms. "You better hope that without a doubt you're right." she warned again, narrowing her eyes on him even more.

"I AM right." Zim then growled back at her, getting annoyed now. "Now either help me or go away!" he yelled at her, not needing all these distractions while he was trying to work.

"I'm not going anywhere! Not until Dib is off that table and conscious again!" Gaz barked back at him.

Sighing at Gaz's words, Zim knew he couldn't argue with her about this any longer and nodded. "Then do what I say, okay...?" he said before hearing his stomach growl. "C-Could you get me a snack?" he asked timidly, wanting that more than anything.

Scowling back at him, however, Gaz refused to leave the room while her brother was still cut open on that table. "No. I'm not leaving. If you want a snack so bad then get if yourself and leave me to watch over him. Otherwise, have your computer bring you one or something." she said, brushing off his request.

Sighing again, Zim turned back to his work. "Okay, fine. I'll wait until he's out of the critical stage." he said, taking up another syringe to fill with some strange blue liquid. Waiting for a red light to ping, he then injected it into Dib carefully.

Crossing her arms, Gaz turned to watch as Zim returned to his work on Dib. "And how long will that be?" she asked, sending him a rather suspicious look.

Glancing at the clock in the room, Zim tried to come up with an estimate for her. "He should be stable in about thirty more minutes." he said before turning back to what he was doing.

"Whatever you do, don't screw this up. And exactly how long of a procedure were you planning on making this anyways?" Gaz asked, wanting more details on it so she'd know what to expect.

"Well, it will take some time for all the changes to take effect...I've given him enough sleeping gas to keep him knocked out for a few more hours at least." Zim sighed, leaning over to stroke Dib's hair gently.

That not being the answer she was looking for however, Gaz narrowed her eyes on him again. "But how much longer are you planning on 'working' on him?" she asked again, trying not to let her temper get the better of her.

Looking up from his work yet again, Zim answered her with another response that didn't really tell her anymore than his last response had. "As long as I have to." he glared back at her.

Getting more and more frustrated with Zim's answers now, Gaz growled at him lowly. "Listen, you. I want an estimate of how many more hours you're going to have my brother gutted out on this table!" she snarled, in no mood for Zim's roundabout answers to her questions.

Sighing out lowly, Zim lifted his head up with a look of relief on his face. "Thankfully not much longer...I'll sew him back up once he's stabilized." he informed her, hoping that would be enough information for her.

But Gaz could only cross her arms across her chest before turning her attention back to Dib. "And then will you be done working on him? Or are you planning on running more 'tests' on him?" she asked, obviously not satisfied with the information she was receiving from the other.

"Would you just BELIEVE ME? I'm not trying to harm Dib!" Zim finally exploded on her, fed up with her interrogation of every little thing he did.

"Just answer my question then already!" Gaz shot back, no longer having the patience to put up with Zim any longer.

"Yes! I'll have to run a few tests! But that's only to make sure everything works right, alright?" Zim finally gave her a straight answer.

Meanwhile, on the table, Dib remained fast asleep in a deep slumber, his newly developing antennae twitching nonetheless at all the yelling.

Noticing the small movement out of the corner of his eye, Zim's eyes instantly lit up. "Oooh! THEY WORK!" he exclaimed happily, glomping onto Gaz in his excitement, not wanting to hurt Dib but really needing a hug from someone in that moment.

Responding negatively to the sudden hug, Gaz took out her anger on Zim by punching him hard in the jaw. "Don't EVER touch me again! Got it?" she warned him, clenching her fists to show that the consequences of such an action would be far worse than what she had just done.

Pulling away and rubbing his jaw painfully, Zim could only let out a small meep in response. "G-Got it..." he stuttered out, a bit shaken now by the sudden punch.

The thin appendages on his head curling in a bit, Dib let out a small grunt which had Zim returning his attention back onto him.

Stepping over to Dib curiously, Zim then reached out a hand to pet back one of the antennas gently.

Gasping in his sleep a bit, Dib's entire body reacted by shuddering before pulling the small antennae away from Zim's hand, the small touch just a bit too sensitive at the moment for the newly developing appendages.

A large grin spreading across his face, Zim pushed Dib's hair back a bit to note to himself how his ears were almost entirely gone, the blood having been cut off from them, causing them to fall off. Then, looking at his nose, he nodded. It was almost gone too. "Just a little longer, Dibbuh. We don't want you COMPLETELY Irken after all..." he said, making sure everything was going according to plan.

"Mmmmm..." Dib shifted in his sleep a bit, causing Gaz to speak back up.

"Hey! Are you TRYING to wake him up when he's cut open in your lab?" Gaz snapped, all of Dib's shifting about disconcerting to her.

Flinching at Gaz's words, Zim turned back on her yet again. "NO!" he glared at Gaz. "If you would just go away, this would go much smoother!" he said before grabbing a needle with a very thick thread attached to it and tucking it into a sterilizing solution. Then, turning back to Dib, he pulled on some sterilized gloves before reaching inside of him to pull out the dying human organs before they could interfere with the growing Irken ones. Although not all of the organs would be changed, many of them still would be.

Lower eyelid of one of her eyes twitching, Gaz could only shudder at the sight of Zim pulling out her brother's organs though she remained standing where she was nonetheless. "You honestly think I would leave you alone to pull out my brother's organs?" she said, sending him an unbelievable look.

Continuing his work nonstop, Zim didn't even move his eyes away from his task as he went to respond. "I'm only pulling out the dead ones so they don't screw up the new, living ones." he said, shifting through them carefully before pulling them out, one at a time.

"And how do you know you're even pulling out the right ones? What if you're pulling out one that he still needs to live?" Gaz pointed at him accusingly.

Zim merely rolled his eyes. "I know how to do this procedure, and I know what a dead organ looks like! But I swear, if you don't SHUT UP soon, something bad will happen to you though!" he lifted his gaze to glare over at her again.

Storming up to him, waiting for a clear opportunity to grab him, Gaz took hold of him by the front of his shirt and lifted him slightly off the ground. "Was that some kind of threat?" she said, tightening her grip on his shirt, ready to pound the living hell out of him now.

"LET ME GO, GAZ! I HAVE TO FINISH THIS!" Zim exclaimed, desperately struggling to get back to Dib. "He could die if I don't!" he then sent Gaz a panicked look.

Eyes narrowing even more on him, Gaz finally dropped him back down onto the ground and stepped aside to allow him access to Dib. "Don't screw this up..." she warned him before allowing him to return to work on her brother.

"I don't plan on it!" Zim took his position next to Dib again and continued his work, an hour or so passing before he had Dib completely sewn back up. Then, resting comfortably next to him once Dib was stabilized, Zim lifted his gaze up to look at Gaz. "...Could you get me a snack now?" he asked Gaz carefully again, not wanting to risk being beaten up by her.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 Now, before you all send in your comments, I'm warning you now. I do NOT want to receive a bunch of Gaz hate mail reviews from you guys for this chapter. Gaz's reactions are perfectly reasonable considering she's walking in on a seemingly bad situation. So no, "I want to kill Gaz" reviews. Otherwise, I may decide not to update until later in the week next week. On another note, LOOK! 8D ROLE REVERSAL! XD Zim dissecting Dib instead of Dib dissecting Zim. XD Too bad Dib doesn't realize that's what Zim's doing to him. XD Anyways, next chapter will be up sometime next week. When is dependent on your guys' reviews though. So keep them flame fee, please. =3 Now, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Yesh! VERY good for Zim indeed. =3 Lol. XD Sorry for the cliffy. That just happens sometimes when I'm measuring out chapters. ^^; But the next chapter should be up in just a few days. =3 Anyways, we're glad you're loving it so much and hope to hear from you again soon. 8D

To Invader Ang: Lol. XD Indeed you did. But that's okay. =3 You're one of our regulars for the most part. Don't even worry about it. =3 And I totally know how you feel. I hate writing papers on random topics that don't interest me. -_-; Like this last one on Togo I just had to do. But anyways, you certainly are thinking just as we were when writing this story. =3 As you'll see in the next chapter, that's exactly what happens. XD Mmmm...Waffles sound really good right now. Maybe I'll make some of my own. XD Thank YOU for reviewing. =3 Until next time.~

To heartofstone15: Well, I'm glad to hear that then. 8D Thanks for the compliment. ^^ We're happy to hear you enjoyed it so much. And, yes. Zimmeh just can't help himself though. X3 Dib be oh so sexy in his eyes. X3

To Sapcoat: Lol. XD Yeah, sorry about its lateness though. I would have had it up sooner, but school got in the way. That just means a faster update for you the next time around though. 8D This chapter dives back into the plot of the story, so I can understand how you might like it better than others. =3 It's one of my favorites as well. And of course Dibbles would be nervous about to undergo a procedure Zim's never done on a human before. XD His nervousness is what makes him oh so cute in this story. X3 And you are right. Getting it up late IS better than not getting it up at all. =3 So thanks for reading and I hope to hear again from you soon. =3

To Meta-Knight-1-fan: Well, sort of. An Irken hybrid really. And, yesh. Irken hybrid Dibbeh be quite sexy indeed. X3 We're glad to hear you're enjoying it so much. 83 But like I've already told several other people, I update weekly for a reason. It gives people a chance to comment and keeps my life easier that way. I don't have all the time in the world to keep on top of updates. So this is all I'm willing to do at the moment. Maybe, once we actually finish writing the RP, I'll update a little faster. But until then, I'd rather you guys take it in slowly. After all, if I gave it to you all at once, trust me, it would be too much of an information overload.

To Watermelondrea: Lol. XD Well, it is VERY delicate work he's doing on Dib right now. Probably best NOT to scare the living daylights out of him. Otherwise this procedure on Dib might go horribly wrong and end up killing him! D8

To Vithian: Yesh! Lol. XD And it's very important to the plot of this story that he did. =3 You'll see why later. And thanks. -_-; It WAS horribly boring. And random. Oh, so random. Not a bit of warning from our teacher that we were going to be stuck with a paper due in her class this week. Normally, teachers are at least kind enough to give a little bit of warning before dropping one on us. And usually 2 weeks in advance for anything longer than 3 pages. 8 isn't really a lot, but it sure can seem like a lot to do in such a short amount of time. -_-; I barely got it done in time. I finished it literally an hour before it was due. But oh well. At least it's out of the way now. And I agree. Rushing the lemonade does tend to ruin most stories. So we held it off for as long as we could. Developing their relationship first was our top priority when it came to this story. And we definitely planned out beforehand how we'd get to that part in the story. So I wouldn't worry too much about it just being randomly slotted in there. =3 We weren't going to have them just randomly jump into bed together and start screwing. XD What fun would that be? And the wait will only make it all the more sweeter when we get around to it. =3 I think Membrane really gets bashed on mostly because he's Dib and Gaz's father. And also because in the show they make him out to be "the smartest person in the world" So wouldn't he NOTICE something like an alien standing right in front of him? That's what people would think, but he doesn't, because he's just as ignorant as everybody else. As for Gaz, she'll be getting some loving soon enough. =3 Honestly though, I support all IZ pairings. ZADR just happens to be my favorite. Some people might pair Dib and Gaz together. But it's not a very common pairing. I've seen stories pair Dib and Membrane together in the past. Didn't bother me too horribly, honestly. The author wrote it well. It's just touching on subjects most people are too afraid to explore for themselves. So I appreciate those types of stories. Because such relationships DO exist in the world, as wrong as some people may make them out to be. You just gotta keep an open mind. There are good ZATR stories out there, just like there are good ZADR, DATR, DADR, RAPR, TAGR, and ZAGR stories. All pairings should at least be given a chance before being completely rejected. Hell, I love it when people come up with new relationships in the IZ universe. A lot of them really could have potential. The only IZ pairings I don't really approve of are pairings between people's OCs with cannon characters. Then it just gets annoying. -_-; But anyways, no, I don't believe we'll be including Keef in this story at any point. We haven't yet, and chances are slim that we will between now and the ending. But you never know. It really just depends on whether Notgonnadie and I decide to add any scenes we haven't yet discussed. I suppose it's possible. But not likely as things stand at the moment. Perhaps in one of the sequels we'll think of somewhere to add him if he doesn't get a part in this story, but I can't really think of any reason for him to be present anywhere in THIS story. Thanks again for reading. =3 And we hope to hear from you again soon. =3

To maliceofhumansacrifice: Lol. Well, there's a reason I always role play as Dib. I think I relate to him the most. =3 But that's not to say he's my favorite character. I don't have a favorite. I love them all. =3 I could never possibly choose. Though, in some ways, I'm more like Gaz. XD Just depends on my current mood. X3 Thanks for reading. I'll talk to you again soon. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD No worries at all. I totally understand. Shit happens. Sometimes it just can't be helped. So don't worry too much about missing chapters every once in a while. =3 We're just happy to have you back. So no need to hyperventilate and pass out there. XD And, yesh! Zim does indeed love his waffles. X3 Especially waffles served to him by Dib. XD They be full of love and waffle. XD Hey, at least Gaz didn't walk in on them having sex. That would have been ten times worse. XD Though, admittedly, the situation she did walk in on DOES look pretty bad. XD And, yayz! 8D I missed your weekly questions. My response to this weeks question however would have to be no. She lives in Missouri. I live in California. So we haven't had an opportunity to meet yet save for over her livestreams really. But I'd love to meet her in person someday, just as soon as I have the money to make it out there for a visit.=3 That might take a while though. ^^; I need to finish school first because all my money goes towards paying for books at the moment. X'D But anyways, that be all I have to say in response to you this week. So until next time~ =3

To Casykirby: Lol. 8D Well, we're glad to hear you're getting so into it then. Just don't let it completely suck you in. Otherwise it might try to steal your face! XD But anyways, the chapters are short for a reason. Keeps updates more regular. I'm sort of known for writing really LONG chapters in other stories, so updates are rare because it takes me so long. But keeping the chapters to this story at the length they're at now helps motivate me to keep it updated regularly. =3 So just try to bare with me here. Besides, a lot of the chapters have a lot going on in them. Shorter chapters allows you guys to soak it in before moving on. As I've said many atimes, without the breaks in between, it's an information overload. Trust me. And thanks for your kind words. (Hug) It really was a horrible paper. I think I would have done better on it had I been given more time. But oh well. At least it's out of the way now. =3 We're glad to hear you loved the last chapter so much and hope you enjoy today's update just as much. 8D And, yesh. X3 Dibbles shall make quite a sexy Irken/human hybrid indeed. Sexy and cute. ^.^ Thanks for reading! 8D Until next time!~


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Alright. You guys rock. =3 Thank you for not sending in Gaz hate mail like the people over on DA did when I posted this chapter. _ For that, here be Chapter 24 of ZADR Orange on time this week! 8D I was going to hold it off since I have a TON of studying to do for a midterm tomorrow, but I guess I can just print out my studying material and go over it at school later today. Besides, I have tomorrow morning to study too. So hopefully it will all work out in the long run. =3 Anyways, much love to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. =3 And, as always, feedback be much appreciated! 8D So we hope you all enjoy. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gaz: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Sitting across the room from Zim, her arms crossed, Gaz narrowed her eyes on him at the request but otherwise didn't argue this time only because Dib was finally stitched back up. So standing up from her spot, she went ahead and headed back up to the house level of the base, returning a few minutes later with the fast food looking bag in hand. Pulling out a long, chocolate doughnut, she then handed it over to Zim. "There...Happy now?" she asked.

Taking the tasty treat from her, Zim nodded his head thankfully. "Thank you, Gaz." he said before taking a large bite out of the doughnut, nomming the rest of it away quickly.

"Yeah, yeah...Whatever...Now how much longer will he be unconscious?" Gaz questioned.

"Not much longer...He has to heal..." Zim responded back in a quiet voice.

"Will it hurt at all when he finally does wake up?" Gaz then buzzed in again.

Zim nodded a little. "He'll probably be sore..." he responded back again in a still quiet voice.

Gaz then nodded back herself. "I guess that's better than being dead...I hope you're not planning on trying to get into his pants anytime soon while he's recovering from this little "procedure." she said, sending him a pointed look.

Sitting down next to Dib, Zim merely reached out a hand to stroke through his hair. "I'm not THAT desperate." he said before glaring at Gaz.

"But you admit that you're desperate." Gaz smirked.

Eyes growing wide, Zim then glared at her even more. "Why don't you go play in your room or something? Leave me alone." he said.

"If you want to be alone so much, why don't you? I already told you I wasn't leaving until Dib finally wakes up." Gaz said back.

Zim sent her an icy glare. "Well, I'm not leaving Dib." he said yet again.

Gaz merely crossed her arms across her chest. "Then I guess you're stuck with me now, aren't you?" she asked, turning away from him.

Narrowing his eyes on her even more, Zim pouted before scooting his chair closer to Dib and curling up half on the table. "Fine." he declared though not happily.

"Mmm..." Dib sounded out before shifting in his spot on the table, shivering a bit at how cold it was in the room, especially considering his shirt had been taken off for Zim to perform the procedure on him.

Having already fallen asleep next to Dib, Zim slept peacefully as no errors had occurred during the surgery and all that was left to do was wait for Dib to rest and the sleep to wear off, which was already starting to happen.

Shifting again in his spot, Dib pressed up close to the only source of heat that seemed to be near him at the moment, that source being Zim. Still shivering as he was beginning to come out of his deep sleep and enter into a lighter one, Dib groggly let out a small whine, now more sensitive to noise and movement. "Zim..." he said in a quiet voice.

His antennae picking up the light sound, Zim instantly snapped his eyes wide open. "Dib?" he exclaimed, standing up to stroke the side of Dib's face lightly. "Dib?" he then asked in a quieter voice.

Antennas twitching slightly, Dib merely continued to sleep, searching with a hand for the warmth that had just left him before shivering again. "Mmmmm..." he sounded out again.

Smiling at this, Zim crawled back onto the table and curled himself around Dib. "Sleep well, Dib." he said before letting his eyes slip partially closed.

Finding Zim's chest and curling up against it, Dib's antennae merely curled back on his head and rested comfortably against his scalp, hidden away for the most part in his hair now.

Smiling even more, finding this to be adorable, Zim hugged Dib even closer though not tighter seeing as he was probably still sore.

Clinging to his front, Dib's fingers then twitched against Zim's uniform top a bit.

Zim stroked Dib's new three-fingered hand.

Becoming completely still now, Dib continued to sleep for about another 45 minutes before finally showing the first signs of waking back up. Yawning tiredly in his sleep, he slowly peeked one of his eyes slightly open for the first time since Zim had put him to sleep.

Bringing his hand up to stroke Dib's hair now, Zim gently rubbed past his new antennas. "How are you feeling, Diblet?" he asked.

Shifting his half lidded gaze up to look at Zim for a few moments, Dib then looked away tiredly, his new antennae shivering before drooping down by the sides of his head as he curled in on himself a bit and responded back in a weak voice. "Nauseous..." his voice came out in a whisper.

Zim smiled softly at him. "As expected..." he whispered back, kissing Dib's cheek gently.

His very insides feeling as though they had been ripped out, Dib closed his eyes and groaned. Opening them slightly again after a moment to have a look around, he was then surprised to find that he could see perfectly now despite not having his glasses on. "It's really cold down here..." he stated in a still weak and quiet voice.

Zim couldn't help but blush at that. "Yeah...I had to keep it like that so you wouldn't overheat...If you want...I could carry you to the bedroom though..." he offered in his own soft voice.

Cringing slightly at the thought of being moved, Dib nonetheless nodded his head in agreement. Then, allowing the Irken to slowly help him sit up, Dib stopped himself about midway up, squeezing his eyes shut tightly and whimpering in pain. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ooowww!" he exclaimed, returning to his side and curling in on himself again, wrapping his arms around his abdomen. "I can guarantee you I'll be sick if you try to move me from here right now..." his voice came out in a strained whisper.

Flinching back at Dib's outburst, Zim looked at him worriedly. "What hurts?" he asked in a somewhat panicky voice now.

"Everything!" Dib exclaimed, getting upset now. Pulling his knees to his chest, he then hid his face away in them. "It's like my insides are on fire!" he just wanted the pain to stop.

Trying to calm him back down now, Zim stroked the side of Dib's face gently. "It's okay, Dib...I'm sorry...You'll be in pain for a little while until you fully heal...If you want though, I have some painkillers..." he offered in a quiet voice to the other.

"I'll take anything that will make this pain go away!" Dib cut in, looking up at Zim desperately.

Nodding his head quickly, Zim jumped up off the table and returned seconds later with another syringe. "This is fast acting, Dib." he said before injecting it carefully and stepping back.

Continuing to whimper in pain for another minute or so longer, Dib suddenly felt a good portion of it finally dissipating away for the time being.

Finally calm again, Zim reached down to stroke the side of Dib's face gently. "I'm sorry...I didn't realize it would hurt so much..." he apologized in a quiet whisper.

Letting his eyes slip closed at Zim's gentle touch, Dib slowly took in a shaky breath. "B-But it will go away, right?" he asked before opening his eyes to gaze back up at Zim again.

Zim could only smile softly at him. "Of course it will. You just need to heal..." he reassured the other softly before a tap on the shoulder reminded him that Gaz was still in the room with them. "Uhh...Y-Your sister is here too..." he smiled nervously at the boy as he was afraid to turn back around and face Gaz.

Towering over Zim from behind at this point, Gaz had a deadly look on her face. "Zim, do you remember what I said I'd do to you if Dib didn't come out of this alright?" she asked, cracking her knuckles loudly.

Flinching away from her, Zim ducked himself underneath Dib's bed for protection. "B-But he is!" he exclaimed, trying to pass Dib's current state off as 'alright'.

Glancing down at Dib for a moment, Gaz then turned her glare back on Zim again. "He doesn't look to be doing all that well right now!" she said, closing in on him.

Hiding more under the bed, Zim tried to keep her from grabbing hold of him. "H-He has to recover! J-Just let him recover! He'll be okay! I-I gave him some medicine a-and...JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" he curled up in his spot, bringing up his arms over his head to protect himself.

Meanwhile, Dib could only watch the exchange of words between Zim and his sister in silence for a few moments before letting his eyelids slip back shut to to sleep, letting out another tired yawn before curling up on the table as Gaz proceeded to attempt to turn Zim into a pretzel.

Screaming out in obvious pain, Zim struggled to escape Gaz as she managed to grab hold of him and yank him out from underneath the bed.

Holding Zim where he was, Gaz wrenched his arm behind his back painfully before giving him a small warning. "I'm going to bed for the night, but if I come down here in the morning and find that his condition has grown any worse that it already is, your arm won't be the only appendage suffering!" she threatened him before finally releasing her grip on him and shoving him to the ground to storm away and head on back upstairs.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 And look! Dibbles be finally awake! 8D Too bad he's in so much pain. D8 Anyways, next chapter will be up sometime next week. Hopefully on time, though I have another HUGE paper assignment to get done then. But we'll see. =3 Now, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD Hey, she's got rights to threaten Zim in that last chapter, just as she's got rights in this chapter to try and turn him into a pretzel. XD But anyways, we're so glad to hear you enjoyed that last chapter so much! 8D It's one of our favorites. ^.^ As for your weekly question, I'd have to say yes. It's just one I've committed myself to finishing when it comes to ficafying. =3 That may involve retyping this entire story, but your guys' reviews make it worth the effort. We've had such a strong response from our fans, I don't think I COULD stop working on this story, even if I wanted to. Also, the fact that I can actually SEE the ending in sight makes me more confident that we can finish this story. And finishing such a long story would probably be one of the greatest accomplishments in my life as a writer. Most of the stories I write, I'm lucky if I can get past even just Chapter 10. However, this story, I'll tell you right now, I'm in the middle of typing out Chapter 72 on. That tells me I made them just the right length. Not too long, not too short. I feel as though updating has become more possible because of that. So that's the only real reason I would say I have such high expectations for this story. Unless you count the fact that it's also just so fun to write. ^^ Thanks again for commenting. Until next time~

To Casykirby: Lol. XD Did our story steal it? Sorry about that. *Turns to story and wags finger at it* Now, you return that face to where it belongs! *Story spits it back out at you* XD Now that you have your face back, let me say we're so glad to hear you enjoyed that last chapter so much. =3 And, yes. Gaz is indeed scary. But she's scary in a loving way. ^.^ And don't worry. She wouldn't have let Dib get killed. =3 If anybody, you should be more worried for ZIM'S life at this point. XD Anyways, thanks again for reviewing. And we hope to hear from you again soon. =3

To heartofstone15: EXACTLY! 8D Thank you for understanding that! Gaz had every right to act in the way she did! That's just her way of showing luv. At least towards Dib. XD Can't say she's loving Zim all too much at this point though. XD Anyways, can't wait to hear back from you. =3

To Vithian: Oh, good. =3 Gaz is too awesome to receive hate mail in this story. And she's got legitimate reasons for acting the way she did in that last chapter, just as she has legitimate reasons for acting the way she does in THIS chapter. As for Zim, however, it was probably because his focus was more on getting himself a snack than it was on keeping Dib alive. XD Lol. Just kidding. Hopefully he comes off better in this chapter. =3 And, yes. I agree with you. A large portion of IZ fans' hatred for Membrane comes from the Dib lovers because he's Dib's father. But I always found the relationship between the two to be quite interesting. That's why I love to play around with it so much in my other stories as well as this one. But anyways. I totally understand how you feel. I have another RP partner who feels the exact same way. Any pairing other than ZADR makes her heart hurt a little because she loves that pairing so much. Zim, I don't generally work with in other pairings. ZADR's my favorite also. But Dib. I just see him as being this character nobody else can really resist. So I LOVE pairing him with lots of different characters. There's just something about him that seems to draw them all in. That's why I like the idea of all the IZ characters fighting over him. XD It's cute. Of course, in this particular story, as you'll see much later on, we actually DO have a bit of competition over Zim. Or perhaps it's Purple. Hard to say really. It just turns into this whole big mess in the end. But you'll see what I mean by that at a later time. =3 And I agree with you 100% on the OC stories. Some people can pull them off. But rarely do people pull them off WELL. They almost ALWAYS screw with the IZ characters' personalities, knowledge, hell, even just the IZ universe in general! I think if people are going to write an OC story, then they need to abide by all the original rules of the IZ universe rather than trying to mix it up to make it work for their character. Because often times, it just results in this huge mess. -_-; And, no. No Keef. I DO love his character. But I can't think of any reason we need him in the story at this point. Like I said, maybe in the next story. Thanks again for reviewing. =3 We're glad you enjoyed it so much, and we hope you enjoy this next chapter just as much. =3

To jack spicer bug: Well, hello. =3 So nice of you to join us. 8D We're glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much. And, yes. There are still many chapters to come. As things stand at the moment, the story is updated weekly. But I can assure you, this story is far from over. =3 In fact, it's estimated to reach well over 100 chapters by the time we finish writing it. So you may want to keep an eye on this story, because we have much more to offer. =3 So we hope to hear from you again soon. =3 Thanks for reading.

To Cat Human: Well, hello, and welcome back. 8D No worries about not reading and commenting last chapter. ^^ I totally understand how that can be. Probably best your mom NOT read this story. XD It's not parent appropriate. XD Thanks so much for the awesome comment. 8D We're glad to hear you're enjoying our story so much. 8D And we hope you'll continue to enjoy reading it. =3 So until next time~

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Lol. XD We're glad to hear it. Sorry for cutting you off though. Really, though, it's not much of a cliffy where I left you guys off in that last chapter. =3 Nothing much happens after that point. But hopefully the wait was worth it nonetheless. =3 This is one of my favorite chapters, so I would hope so. ^^ Thanks again for reading. Until next time~

To maliceofhumansacrifice: Lol. XD I remember it took me over a year to get all three Zim DVDs. Every time I ordered them, something would go wrong. First, they sent me the wrong disks, then when I tried to re-order again, they sent me nothing and kept my money. -_-; So I eventually just asked my parents to get me them for my birthday/Christmas. Well worth the wait in my opinion. Though now I can just watch it on TV since they brought it back on the Nick Toons channel. =3 So I'm happy. Anyways, we're glad to hear you enjoyed that last chapter so much. 8D And we hope you enjoy this next chapter just as much. Yes, Gaz is rather protective, but I would be too if I walked in on my brother being dissected. XD Despite how she may act in the show, I think she DOES care about Dib on some level. He IS her last living relative after all, aside from Membrane who disowned them. So it makes sense. My brother is kind of an ass too. But I just learn to live with it. Thankfully, he doesn't leave his room save to go to work each day. So I don't have to deal with him. Anyways, with that said, we hope you continue to read and review. Until next week~ =3


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Alright! And yet another update be delivered! 8D So for those of you who have been waiting oh so patiently, here be Chapter 25 of ZADR Orange. 8D Much love to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And remember, feedback be much appreciated. =3 Hope you all enjoy. 83

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gaz: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

To say the very least, Zim's arm was in pain as he pulled it back to himself to cradle gently and let out a small sob. "Dib..." the others name slipped past his lips as he went back to curl up next to Dib, really hoping he didn't get any worse by morning.

After a few hours of sleep however, Dib began to wake back up once more, the painkiller Zim had given him beginning to wear off. Opening his eyes to find the room he was in completely dark, he was only able to see the shadows being cast across the walls of Zim's lab.

So sitting himself up slowly to have a better look around, he couldn't help but let out a pained yelp and double over in his spot with his arms wrapped around his stomach when he tried to locate the Irken in the room. "Zim?" his voice shook a bit as he called out the others name in the dark.

Sitting up quickly, getting a little lightheaded, Zim jumped to his feet and was at Dib's side within a matter of seconds. "Dib? Wh-What's wrong? A-Are you okay?" he asked almost frantically.

Looking about the darkness, Dib reached out one hand to search for the other. "Wh-Where are you?" he asked, unable to make anything out in this light or, to be more precise, lack of light.

Coming up closer to Dib, Zim reached out to take his hand in his own. "I'm right here, Dib..." he said softly, kissing his hand gently as reassurance.

Scooting himself closer to Zim the instant he took his hand, Dib shivered, not liking the creepy look of the base in the dark, especially when on a fairly strong painkiller that was making his senses hazy. "Wh-What time is it?" he then asked in an attempt to take his mind off the shadows being cast in the room by all of Zim's equipment.

Stroking Dib's hair, Zim glanced back at the clock, his vision better in the dark than Dib's. "It's three in the morning, Dibblet." he cooed out the pet name softly.

Letting out a small whimper nonetheless, Dib went to hide his face in Zim's chest. "I don't like it in here..." he fussed, his new antennae falling back on his head.

Pulling Dib into a gentle hug, Zim brought back up his earlier suggestion. "Want to go upstairs or to the bedroom?" he asked, knowing the atmosphere in either of those two rooms would be far less frightening for the new hybrid in his current state than the one they were in right now.

Nodding his head and wrapping his arms around the other, Dib merely clung to Zim, this time just putting up with the pain so he could be moved to a less intimidating environment.

Deciding to carry Dib to the bedroom since it was closer, Zim scooped the boy up into his arms gently before leaving the room to lay him down on the soft bed inside his bedroom. "I took the liberty to have the computer fix the room for you." he said, nodding to the completely reformed room which now greatly resembled Dib's old one. "I thought you'd feel more at home if I did..." he then explained before nuzzling Dib lightly.

Still clinging somewhat to Zim despite having been set down, Dib lifted his head to have a look about the room, noting that it did indeed look a lot like his old room now. Calming somewhat at the familiarity of it, he then closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Zim's. "Thank you..." he thanked the other, starting to feel tired again.

Smiling softly at Dib, Zim nuzzled one last kiss to his forehead gently. "You're welcome..." he acknowledged the other's gratitude before pulling away. "Now you rest up, Dib." he instructed the other before crawling onto the bed himself to snuggle up next to him. "I'll keep you safe." he reassured the other that nothing else would harm him while he was down here.

Attempting to get as comfortable as physically possible for the time being, Dib found himself still gripping onto the Irken's uniform top tightly for protection as he didn't want the other going anywhere while he slept.

Smiling at this, Zim nuzzled him again happily. "I hope you feel better soon..." he whispered into Dib's antennae lightly.

Yawning tiredly, Dib merely smiled and responded back in a tired voice. "I hope so too..." he said before opening his eyes to look back up at Zim. "Are you feeling alright? I mean, after what my sister did to you..." his sentence trailed off as he dropped his eyes back down.

Zim merely nodded. "I deserved it...I put you in danger..." he looked away to the side guiltily.

Managing to lift his head enough to stare back up at Zim, Dib poked his tongue out to give the alien's cheek a small lick. "You didn't put me in danger...You did what I asked you to do..." he reminded the other, not wanting him to regret doing it.

But Zim could only shake his head at those words. "But I wasn't positive if it would work...I shouldn't have done it because of that..." he seemed to scold himself.

"You said you had done this before though...And I trusted that you could do this...And you did..." Dib's voice grew quiet as he brought his gaze up to meet Zim's.

Smiling back at Dib, Zim nuzzled him lightly. "Thank the Tallest I did..." he then sounded more relieved than anything.

Closing his eyes at the nuzzle, Dib instinctively leaned in, his lips parted as he pulled Zim's bottom lip between them to nibble on gently.

His own eyes slipping closed, Zim also leaned in, his hands of their own accord finding their way to Dib's new antennae to rub them gently.

But not being ready for such a sensitive touch quite yet, Dib instantly pulled away, his eyes snapping wide open at the sensation. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" he bellowed out before letting his antennae fall back to rest on the back of his head, blushing slightly as the sensation had rippled through his entire body in a pleasurable yet painful manner.

Blushing at Dib's reaction, Zim was quick to pull his hands away. "S-Sorry...I didn't mean to do that..." he apologized, looking away ashamed.

"I-It's alright...I just wasn't expecting it is all..." Dib said, his blush deepening as he stared up at Zim's own antennae before reaching up one of his own hands to pet one of the sensitive appendages back himself, just barely tracing his fingers over it before pulling back.

"Ohhhh..." Zim moaned, blushing at the touch and purring once Dib had pulled away. "Mmmm..." he then hummed out contently.

Watching Zim's reactions curiously, Dib wondered how it would feel on his own new antennae once his body had healed from the procedure.

Eyes half lidded, Zim stared back at Dib. "You shouldn't do that right now, Dib..." he panted out before purring some more. "I'm too stressed to control my reactions..." he warned the other cautiously.

"O-Oh...S-Sorry..." Dib blushed even more before resting his head comfortably on the bed and shivering slightly. "It's still kind of cold down here..." he then murmured quietly to the other, his teeth chattering a bit.

Smiling at that statement, Zim sat up a bit to reach down and pull up a thicker blanket to wrap around himself and Dib before cuddling up with him again. "Better?" he asked, just wanting Dib to feel as comfortable as possible.

Nodding his head, Dib found Zim's chest again and nuzzled his face into it, soaking up what warmth he could from the other.

Rubbing Dib's back gently, Zim then leaned down to kiss the top of his head lightly. "Sleep, Dib...You need it." he didn't want to keep his hybrid up any longer.

Nodding his head slowly in agreement, Dib yawned one last time before closing his eyes to sleep. "Okay..." the word came out in a soft whisper.

For the next several hours both Zim and Dib continued to sleep until Zim's own eyes opened back up reluctantly. Fully rested now, he didn't want to sleep any longer, but at the same time, he didn't want to leave Dib either.

Unfortunately for him, Dib remained fast asleep even as a knock on Zim's bedroom door sounded throughout the room.

Eyes snapping fully open at the sound of the knock, Zim hurriedly buried himself underneath Dib, afraid of what stood on the other side of the door.

Standing right outside, Gaz only continued to knock even louder. "Damnit, Zim! Open this door or else I'll break it down!" she threatened from her end.

"N-NO ONE'S HOME! COME BACK LATER!" Zim yelled back at her, his voice shaking.

Growling angrily when Zim wouldn't open the door for her, Gaz went ahead and kicked the door open before stalking into the room moodily. "You know, I was really considering not killing you this morning if you just let me in like I told you to, but now...I've changed my mind." she said before approaching the bed to check up on Dib, pressing a hand to his face, covered in sweat at the moment. "He's running a fever..." she then said before turning to glare at Zim.

Swallowing thickly, shaking in his spot, Zim wanting to help yet at the same time didn't want to die."I-If you don't kill me, I can fix this. He needs me." he said, pulling Dib close to himself.

But Gaz just narrowed her eyes on him at that. "No! What he NEEDS is somebody who actually understands the workings of the human body! All you're doing is treating the Irken half of him! But that's not the half that needs treating! So I'M taking over now as his sole caregiver! You've had your chance to help him!" she yelled back at him before pulling her hand away to stand up straighter. "Keep an eye on him until I get back. I'm heading to the store to get a few things he'll be needing if we want him to get better." she ordered, sparing him one last glare before turning to leave the room.

Antennae drooping, Zim could only hold Dib tighter. "O-Okay, Gaz..." he agreed to follow her orders, looking away as she left.

Uttering Zim's name in his sleep, Dib seemed to shift uncomfortably in the bed and Zim's arms. "Mmm...Zim..." he panted out airily.

Looking down at Dib, Zim could only shake his head slowly and sigh. "I-I'm sorry, Dib...I shouldn't have done this..." he apologized in a quiet whisper, looking away.

Searching blindly with his arms in his sleep for where the Irken had gone, Dib merely uttered his name a second time. "Ziiim..." he seemed to whine when he couldn't locate the other.

Peeking down at the other when he heard his name yet again, Zim reached out his free hand to clasp Dib's in his own. "I'm right here, Dib..." he whispered before giving the hand a small squeeze.

Having found the alien's hand, Dib instantly pulled him in close to wrap his arms around and press himself close to, finding some sort of comfort in burying his face in Zim's chest and resting there as he slept on.

A bit shocked by the hybrid's actions, Zim couldn't help but smile sadly a bit and stroke a hand through Dib's hair. "You're more trouble then you're worth, huh?" he grinned and nuzzled him before shaking his head. "No...I'M more trouble than I could ever be worth...You're just perfect..." he spoke softly to the sleeping Dib.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 Hmmm...I don't really have much to say about this last chapter. Odd. And it be one of my favorites too. Oh well. XD Next chapter will be up sometime next week. 8D So let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed. =3

To Casykirby: Oh, yes. Dibbles be in so much pain. TT^TT But he'll recover soon enough. You'll see. =3 And you're welcome for your face back. We couldn't very well have had you going around without it. XD Otherwise you wouldn't have been able to read more chapters to our story. =3 But anyways, we're glad to hear you enjoyed that last chapter so much. And it brings us much joy knowing you guys look forward to our updates THAT much. 8D So thank you. And we hope this story continues to bring you much joy each and every week. =3 Lol. XD You KNOW, as well as Gaz, that all Zim really wants is to get into Dibbles' pants. XD But as we've mentioned before, that still doesn't come until Chapter 34. So be patient. =3

To Cat Human: Well, thank you. =3 Here be your weekly update then. We hope you enjoy. 8D

To Watermelondrea: Yesh! Over-protective, little sister Gaz be full of love. (Huggles Gaz) And your wish be granted in this chapter. Lol. =3 There's a little antennae play. Unfortunately, Dib's still in pain so it's not as much fun for him. XD But once he's feeling better, just you wait and see. OH, THE FUN THAT SHALL BE HAD! XD (Evil laugh). And oh so sexy shall it be. X3 So until next time~! X3

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Oh, yes. Poor Zimmeh indeed. To say the very least, he really hasn't done all that well of a job getting on Gaz's good side. But things will work out for the better a little later on. You'll see. =3 And we're glad to hear you love it. =3 Hope you love this chapter just as much if not more. 8D

To Neko-Setra: Well, hello, and welcome! 8D So nice of you to join us! We're really happy to hear you're enjoying this story so much. ^^ And we hope you'll continue to read and review more in the future. =3 So here be the next chapter to satisfy your ZADR Orange needs. We hope you enjoy! 8D

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD Me too. =3 And her actions are justified. We got so much hate mail over on DA and it was pissing me off. But you people here on fanfiction are just plain awesome. This is why the postings to this story have now been limited to only two places. Here and the website we created for the story. =3 I'm glad to hear you're enjoying re-reading the story here though. =3 Even if you have read ahead already. XD Just remember, I'm no longer posting over on DA. So you may want to check the website link posted in my last journal. You can read even more up to date on the website now. We've caught up and have been adding new chapters this past week or so. =3 But this version IS more personal which is why I appreciate your reading and reviewing here. I like getting to know our readers. =3 Over on the website, hardly anyone wants to respond. -_-; And we even created a forum for that purpose. But they're all too lazy. But anyways, yes, poor Dibbles be in very much pain indeed. I think it was the dissection part that hurt him the most though. XD Hmmm...That's a tough one. When you say, "something more", what exactly do you mean? I mean, obviously, they're a bundle of nerves and they're highly sensitive to touch. And I guess you could say they add to the pleasure when Irken's mate. But they can also hurt on occasion depending on how they're touched or how the Irken is feeling. I'm not quite so sure they do much else than that in this story. In other stories, I'll admit, I have theories about them doing more than what people would expect. They're used for hearing, sense, sometimes I imagine they might taste sweet to their mates, but perhaps the best way I could describe them would be to say I see them as almost the same way I'd see nipples on the human body. They're sensitive to touch and for Irkens, I considered them having the same function for breast feeding that you see in humans. After all, female Irkens don't have boobs. If they had smeets, how else would they feed them? But that isn't the case in this story. Overall, the antennae are primarily used for pleasure in this story. They don't really do much else than that. So I hope that answers your question. ^^; Unless you were referring to something else with that question. But anyways, I guess I'll find out soon enough. So until next time~

To Vithian: Lol. No worries. =3 At least you reviewed. These past few chapters it feels as though less and less people are reviewing, which saddens me a bit, but I won't make people if they don't want to. =3 And also, half the time, they come back and apologize, telling me WHY they didn't review. So it's all good. I understand that shit happens. So I'm fine with people disappearing for a while on us. =3 And honestly, I LOVE receiving the longer reviews from you guys, even if they do take me a while to respond back to. XD But anyways, indeed, they've both got such awesome characters to begin with. =3 Honestly though, this story does at first take on the expected "Dib hates Membrane/ vice versa" approach. But that's only because that's how we SAY it. To our readers though, you guys may take things as they're shown, not told. I'm not sure that Dib actually hates Membrane in this though I have him say it plenty of times throughout. I think I'm trying to get across that feeling of mixed emotions towards his father in this without actually saying it. There are subtle hints throughout the story. And as things stand now, we're working towards the scene in the story where those emotions collide back together and Dib has to make sense of them. So hopefully we'll be able to pull everything together nicely in that respect. Gaz, however, I hate how most people portray her. That's why I try to give her a more human personality than the brutal bitch people make her out to be. I think, on some level, Gaz is the glue in Zim and Dib's relationship. Even if she doesn't always support it, she's one of the few people Dib will go to whenever the shit hits the fan between him and Zim. And she's there for him, even if she doesn't want to be. Now, I'm not saying I don't see Zim in other relationships. I just don't work with him in other relationships on most Dib however, I see so many ways his personality can pull others in. But, as always, it depends on how he's portrayed. Next to ZADR, perhaps the next Dib pairing that works best in my mind would have to be DADR. The chemistry between Dib and Dwicky is just too perfect to be ignored. Tryint to create chemistry between a Zim character and an OC, however, seems near to impossible to me. -_-; I hate when people just copy the same plot for their character then throw them into a story with Zim and Dib. And to make things worse, half the time, they have Zim and Dib accept them right away like it's normal or something. It pisses me off on so many levels that anybody would think others would want to read their OCXZim/Dib story. In don't think anybody really cares for such a plot nor do they find it interesting. The only people who find such a thing interesting are the writers themselves because they have some Zim/Dib fetish where they want their character (who represents themselves) to be in a relationship with one of them. I think THAT is what really screws with the IZ fandom. I'm not saying OC's are bad or anything, but if they're going to create an OC, the least they could do is keep that OC single or create another OC for that OC. That way, there's no cross-contamination in the IZ universe. ZADR works though because their are so many nuances in the show that you can work off of, as you explained in your comment. The same goes for other pairings as well. You just gotta find them and make your readers see how they could work. But anyways, I believe I've rambled enough as well. So thank you for reading. We're glad you like that last chapter. And we hope to hear from you again soon. =3


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Alright. Another Tuesday, another update. =3 Just one more week of school left before Thanksgiving Break, you guys. 8D So I don't have an excuse if I don't update on time next week. XD But anyways, for those of you who have waiting oh so patiently, here be Chapter 26 of ZADR Orange, one of my absolute favorites. =3 So we hope you all enjoy. 8D And remember, feedback be much appreciated, as are all the people who have faved or added this story to their story alert lists! 8D

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Gaz: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Hardly responding to Zim's words, Dib was in too deep of a sleep to know anything other than he wanted Zim to remain still as some kind of pillow for him.

Letting Dib cuddle up to him, Zim sighed out quietly. "Please be okay, Dib..." he just wanted his human hybrid to recover quickly.

Returning to the base about 45 minutes later, Gaz entered Zim's bedroom without even knocking this time, a small bag of various items in hand. "How is he?" she asked, placing the bag on the bed and looking up at Zim.

Looking up from Dib, Zim could only shake his head slowly. "I'm not sure...He's still asleep." he responded, petting back a bit of Dib's hair.

"Well, I bought a few items for when he wakes up that our mom used to give us whenever we were sick. They should help lower his fever." Gaz said, pulling out a few of the things to place near the edge of the bed.

"Okay...You think he'll be okay, right?" Zim asked, just needing that little bit of reassurance.

Gaz merely nodded her head. "So long as you don't pull any more organs out of him or play around with his DNA, he should be fine in a day or two." she said, pulling something that looked like an ice-pack out of the grocery bag. "I'll be right back. I'm going to throw this in the freezer upstairs for a bit. Keep an eye on him until I get back." she instructed the Irken before leaving.

Nodding his head silently, Zim could only hold tighter to Dib.

Yawning tiredly in his sleep, Dib slowly started to come to again, bringing a hand up to rub under one of his eyes before blinking them open enough to have a look around. "Hmmm..." he sounded out disorientated.

Freezing in his spot, Zim brought his gaze down to look at Dib with wide eyes. "A-Are you okay?" he asked, having been wanting to ask the other how he was feeling all morning.

Bringing his tired gaze up to look at Zim, Dib responded back in a fairly worn out voice. "My body is hurting again..." was all he could manage to say.

"Gaz said she'd be right back, Dib...Just hold on." Zim told the other, hugging him lightly in an attempt to make him feel better.

But Dib could only let out a light sob at that as he felt anything but better in that moment. If possible, he actually felt worse. "I want my mom..." he whimpered out somewhat delusional, something he only did when he was in severe pain.

Flinching back at Dib's words, Zim nuzzled him back gently, just wanting to calm him down now. "I-I don't know where she is..." he stuttered out, unsure what to do now that Dib had started crying.

Arms crossed, Gaz stood back in the doorway to the room. "That's because she's dead." she said before making her way back into the room.

Looking up from Dib as she walked in, Zim couldn't help but send her a slightly confused look now. "What happened? How did she die?" he asked, not having wanted to ask Dib for fear of opening old wounds.

Approaching the bed, Gaz glanced down at Dib. "I don't think that's the best topic to be discussing right now." she said before gesturing to Dib, who was whimpering in Zim's arms at the moment. "She was still alive the last time he got this sick." she informed him, cutting off the subject there.

Looking back down at Dib and sighing, Zim could only shake his head and hold him close. "I keep forgetting...You're no more than a smeet, Dib..." his voice came out soft as he often forgot how young Dib still was.

Merely watching them for a few moments, Gaz then turned back to look through the stuff she had bought for him. "Well, I got him a few fever reducers from the store, but I'm not quite so sure he should be taking them yet. If any of those painkillers you gave him are still coursing through his body, it might be better to start him off with a cold bath." she said, looking back up at Zim. "You did leave him with the ability to tolerate water, right?" she asked, though she wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't.

"Of course I did! Do you think I'm stupid?" Zim snapped back at her moodily.

"Trust me. You don't want me to answer that truthfully...Now, can I trust you to give him a cold bath without doing anything overly perverted to him? I'd do it myself, but I'd really rather not have to see what his new bits and pieces look like after what you did to his DNA." Gaz said, making a slightly disgusted face at the thought.

Antennae falling back to press against the back of his head, Zim glared hatefully at Gaz. "I'm not THAT bad! I'm not doing anything until HE'S ready anyways! But as it looks now, he'll never want to, so you can just quit harassing me about it already!" he barked back at her, pulling away from Dib to get up out of the bed before picking the boy up carefully to carry him to the bathroom.

Rolling her eyes, her arms crossed, Gaz could tell he was just overreacting about the issue now.

Meanwhile, in Zim's arms, Dib had shrunk down a bit, his new antennae falling back almost submissively as he stared back up at Zim a little frightened by all the yelling. "Are you mad at me?" he asked in a quiet voice, thinking the other had only gotten so upset because he had refused to have sex with him.

Looking down at Dib shocked at that question, Zim quickly shook his head. "Wh-Why would I be mad at you?" he exclaimed, holding him close and nuzzling him. "I love you...None of this is your fault, Dib...It's mine..." his voice then fell down to a whisper so as not the scare him anymore than he already had.

"But you sounded upset that I didn't want to have sex with you yet..." Dib responded back, shrinking down just a bit more in Zim's arms.

Shaking his head violently, Zim didn't want Dib thinking any of this was his fault. "NO! I was mad because your sister wouldn't stop harassing me! It had nothing to do with you. You're still just a smeet...At least at heart..." his voice became soft again as he didn't want Dib feeling burdened about the subject.

Calming just a bit at those words, Dib sniffled wetly in Zim's arms. "S-So, you're not mad at me about it then?" he asked, still feeling a little bit guilty about refusing to sleep with Zim.

Nuzzling him gently, Zim carefully set Dib down to start the bathwater for him, the water coming out a light pink color. "Of course not. I've told you this before, Dib. It was my fault." he reassured the other one last time.

Bringing one hand up to rub at one of his eyes and then his other hand up to rub at his other eye, Dib wiped the tears away the best he could at that answer as he waited for Zim to fill the tub for him.

Still facing away from Dib as he prepared the bathwater, Zim didn't notice this until he had turned back around. "This bath is half water, half cleansing goo. It should be enough to feel nice to you and not burn me." he said before turning back to Dib. "Are you ready to get i- Hey. What's wrong?" he asked as he reached forward a hand to wipe at a few of Dib's tears.

The tears still coming, Dib just continued to wipe at his eyes with his hands. "My head hurts...a lot." he said before shivering slightly where he sat, just wishing above all else that everything would stop hurting so much.

"Oh, Dib..." Zim reached his hand up to pet his head softly, stroking back his antennas gently. "Here. You'll feel better if you get in, okay?" he offered to help the other into the tub.

Antennae shuddering at the gentle stroking, Dib nodded his head slowly before allowing Zim to help him get undressed so he could get in the tub.

Pulling up a washcloth once Dib was settled into the soothing liquid, Zim then reached over to retrieve a small bar of soap. "Here. You just relax. Zim will clean you up." he instructed the other before kissing him and starting to clean him off.

Trying to relax as Zim began to carefully wash him, taking special care when cleaning around the stitched up area on his chest, Dib merely reclined in the tub a bit, blushing as he squeezed his legs together somewhat subconsciously, Zim being the only other person besides his mother who had ever been in the same room with him while he was completely naked.

Careful in his cleaning of Dib, Zim, however, never blushed or looked away as to him, this was a mission. Making sure he cleaned Dib thoroughly, he worked to finish his job up quickly so Dib would start to feel better soon.

Noticing how concentrated Zim seemed to be on the task at hand, Dib turned his gaze to watch Zim for a bit.

Zim merely continued working, finishing his job washing Dib's body quickly enough before turning to his hair. "Can you dunk down a little?" he asked, wanting Dib to be comfortable while he did this.

Blushing even more, Dib nodded his head before bowing it down a bit and bringing his knees up to hug to his chest so he could rest his head there comfortably as Zim began washing his hair.

Being delicate with Dib's thin antennae, Zim gently began rubbing in the soap carefully.

Entire body shuddering as the other ran his hands over his antennae softly, Dib soon let his eyes slip back closed as though to sleep as the sensation was surprisingly soothing.

Leaning down a bit when Dib seemed to relax, Zim whispered a question quietly into his antennae. "Do you feel better?" he asked, sensing Dib's comfort level now that he was in the tub.

Blinking his eyes slightly open at the question, Dib took in a more steady breath before exhaling slowly. "A little..." he admitted, the soft massaging around his antennae calming him considerably.

Smiling down at him, Zim returned his attention back to the task at hand. "I'm glad..." he said, working his fingers around each strand of hair gently.

Tiredly letting his eyes slip closed a second time, Dib then leaned up against Zim a bit and sighed in some comfort.

Smiling sadly at the small gesture, Zim leaned down to press a kiss to Dib's forehead. "You'll get better soon, Dib. I know it." he told the other in a reassuring manner, relieved now that things were calming back down.

"I hope so...The room is spinning..." Dib said, his head lolling a bit when he opened his eyes again to have a look around.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 Poor Dibbles. He be in so much pain his head is spinning. I think all that antennae touchy in the last chapter was bad for him. XD Anyways, next chapter will be up sometime next week. 8D So let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed. =3

To Cat Human: Lol. XD Thanks. X3 I'm sorry to say Dibbles be in quite a lot of pain for a while still though. D8 That's why he needs Zimmeh there to make him feel all better again. Though honestly, a lot of his pain in this story IS a result of things Zim does to him unintentionally. XD But you'll see what I mean by that later in the story. =3

To Casykirby: Lol. XD Well, Chapter 34 won't be here for a while still, though we are drawing ever closer to it. =3 Just remember that it won't be posted here on Fanfiction. I'll have a link to it in my profile when we reach that chapter. I don't want to take any chances with FF removing the story. But as for your question, yes, we do have the chapters planned out ahead of time for the most part. =3 It's not that we work on them during the week, though we do work on the overall story during that time. Basically, this story started out as a random script RP. When we decided to start posting the chapters, I took the time to retype this story in a narrative form. So the chapters are already typed out long before I post them here. If I had really wanted to, I could have posted around 77 chapters here already. But I prefer taking my time. Where NGD and I are in working on this story is FAR from where you people are in reading it. But it's better that way. Posting so many chapters all at once would probably cause people's heads to explode from an information overload. So we're taking it slowly for now. As for the people on facebook, I assume you mean the ZADR fanz people. We're aware they made our story their official story for their page. And that somebody actually made a facebook page entitle ZADR Orange. But that's all I've heard of our story on facebook. It's quite flattering, though nobody really bothers to ever tell us these things. I had to google it just to find those two pages. It would have been nice to know ahead of time. But oh well. I think some people are afraid to talk to us or something. Either that or they think we're like every other fiction writer out there who DOESN'T respond to their fans. But really, we're just two normal people who enjoy getting to know the people who like our writing. =3 Anyways. Glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much, as always. Chapter 34 be only 8 chapters away, so hang in there. And we hope to hear from you again soon. =3 Also, thank you for the encouraging words. ^^ It's always nice to hear when we've accomplished such a feat as actually making our readers feel as though they were there, in the story. =3 So until next time~

To Vithian: Lol. I don't doubt it. =3 You're always here to review. So if you left for any reason, I assume you'd come back eventually. =3 But anyways. Yes. I think that is the challenge for most fiction writers. Taking a situation that's already been played upon and adding an unexpected twist. NGD and I certainly hope that's what we're managing to do with this story. =3 Personally, I love the way her mind works. Makes her a real pleasure to work with. =3 And I love making the unexpected happen in my stories. XD That's why I can't wait until NGD and I have the chance to sit down and work on that upcoming scene with Membrane in it. X3 But I should probably stop giving away such scenes in my responses back to you guys. Don't want to totally ruin the surprise for you. XD As for your thoughts about common and uncommon pairings, I would have to agree with you on all points but one. I wouldn't put DADR down as an uncommon pairing in the IZ universe. I find it's actually a quite popular pairing. I can't say for sure how many stories there are out there with DADR in them, but there are plenty enough good ones to make it a fairly regularly recognized pairing. As for the others, I'm just waiting for the next uncommon pairing to make it's entrance as a big time player. =3 I'm sure one will. In fact, a few others probably have by now. I've found DibXLard Nar to be becoming fairly popular. And even DwickyXSizzlhor seems fairly common to me today. =3 Just depends on who writes the story/draws the fanart that makes those pairings work. =3 I doubt any pairing will ever top ZADR though. Too many fan girls/boys. Also, they're practically the main characters of the show overall. Of course they'd have to be paired together by virtually every IZ fan out there, even if they don't like ZADR. To make an OCXZim/Dib pairing work though, first the OC would have to be made equally as popular as both of them. Otherwise, it's just a waste of time pairing them together. I've maybe read one OC story/comic that managed to pull this off, but only because the creator promotes her character so well and has an original storyline to go along with it. I'll admit there are some aspects of the storyline I don't like, but it's definitely more original than most other people have made their OC stories. What you've pointed out about OC stories is exactly what I try to avoid in reading. If somebody can pull off an OC story without all those elements in it, then great for them. They probably deserve any praise they get for it. Otherwise, I wouldn't put too much money on them receiving many reviews for it. For ZADR Orange, I'll admit we've got a few OCs later in the story. But they're there as necessary characters meant to develop the plot. They're either single or paired with another OC. They don't intrude on any of the other relationships already established in this story. So hopefully you guys will like them when they enter the story later on. And indeed. Making uncommon pairings work can be quite fun when it comes to writing. So I hope you have fun writing your DASR story. XD And as always, we can't wait to hear back from you again. =3 So thanks for reading and reviewing. 8D

To Lovingly Insane: Well, hello there, new reader. 8D So nice of you to join us. =3 For the record, updates are available once a week, usually on Tuesdays. So feel free to check back with us each and every week. 8D I don't recall you commenting on this either, but it's so nice to hear from you that you're enjoying our story so much. 8D We're quite flattered you would consider our story to be the best IZ fic you've ever read. =3 It certainly will be the longest, I can assure you of that. That is, if you continue reading of course. ^^ We're glad you don't find them to be too OOC, though really, they become more OOC as the story progresses. XD You'll see what I mean by that later in the story though, once again, given you continue reading. XD Anyways, here be our regular weekly update for you. Hope you enjoy. =3

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Yayz! 8D We're glad to hear it! Here's the next chapter for you. ^_^

To Illisandria Carthain: HI! 8D (Waves back) Lol. XD We're so happy to hear you enjoy our flawed Zim in this story. 8D Well, actually, it's NGD's flawed Zim. XD I only do Dib's parts in this story. She does Zim's flawed parts oh so well. XD But it makes for a really cute interaction between the two of them. =3 That's why I love working with her on this story. As for your weekly question, seeing as how you've been reading the conversation between Vithian and I, like I said in my response this week, whether I read an OC story or not is dependent on what the OC is there to do in the story. If the character is there to progress the plot of an IZ story then perhaps. If the universe doesn't correspond with the original plot line of the show though, then probably not. Lots of variables play into the success or failure of OC stories. I don't mind the propaganda, but an actual summery of what the stories are about would be nice before diving into them. So here be your update for this week. =3 And we certainly do love you too. (Huggles) Until next time~ =3

To heartofstone15: Lol. XD We're glad you think so. Hopefully you'll find this next chapter just as cute. =3 And, yes. Who wouldn't care for poor, hurt Dibbles? (Huggles him) X3

To snickers-03: Ah well, hello there. Welcome back. It's been a while since we've heard from you. =3 We're so glad to hear you're still enjoying our story so much. 8D It really nice to receive reviews from people we haven't heard from in a long while. ^^ Anyways, thank you so much for your kind review. 8D We certainly shall do our best to keep this fic to your people's liking. 8D

To lostsun: Well, hello there and welcome! 8D We always love seeing new faces here. =3 Though, honestly, I don't know where you are in the story yet. ^^; I figure since you sent us a review for chapter 9, I might as well respond back to you in this chapter. =3 So, hopefully you'll see this when you read Chapter 26. =3 We're glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much. And indeed, a ZimXPurple fic would be absolutely awesome. XD If you'd like, you could consider this to be a one-sided ZAPR fic. XD But the main pairing in this is ZADR. So we hope you'll continue to enjoy that pairing as well throughout. ^^ Anyways, when you catch up with the story, we hope to hear from you again. Much thanks to you for commenting. 8D


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Ahh...Such a nice feeling getting to take my time posting this chapter rather than rushing through the process in order not to be late for school. Yes...I do oh so love my breaks from school. Especially Thanksgiving Break. One of my favorite holidays because the food is always awesome and it's just that much more of a reminder that the school semester is almost over. (Sighs happily) Anyways, for those of you who have been waiting oh so patiently, here be Chapter 27 of ZADR Orange. Be thankful for it. XD Because we sure are thankful for all your guys' faves and reviews. Oh, and we're thankful for those of you who added the story to your story alert lists, of course. ^^ So, without further ado, here be the next chapter already. =3 You guys are great. Just remember, feedback be much appreciated. 8D So Happy Thanksgiving to you all! 8D Oh! And you guys should all go wish NGD a Happy Birthday as well. =3 Her birthday was this past Saturday. So send much love to her in your reviews this week! X3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

A worried look coming to Zim's face at Dib's words, the Irken could only reach out a hand to press against one of the boy's cheeks gently. "Just close your eyes and rest, Dib." he instructed the other before returning back to his work.

Merely nodding his head and closing his eyes, Dib pressed himself even closer to Zim for comfort.

Smiling at this, Zim leaned down to kiss him lightly before pulling away, his smile never leaving his face. "Get well soon, Dibbers." he said in a soft voice.

Twitching his antennae forward a bit at the light kiss, Dib grazed them lightly against Zim's skin.

The Irken laughed. "Be careful with those, Dib. They're very sensitive after all." he warned the other.

Peeking his eyes open to peer up at Zim, Dib then attempted to look up at his own antennae. "I think they have a mind of their own..." he whispered to the other quietly as his antennae continued to twitch all about the place.

Laughing even more, Zim just about fell over at that statement. "No, they are just responding to your surroundings and feelings, Dib." he explained, knowing it would take his human hybrid a while to get used to them.

Having by now reached up a hand to touch them, Dib stopped himself before looking back at Zim. "Do yours do that too then?" he asked the other curiously.

Nodding his head in response, Zim twitched his own antennae forward to almost meet Dib's. "But I have more control than you do...I can force them to stay pressed against my head when I need to wear my disguise." he said before showing the other by slicking them back momentarily.

"Oh...Does that mean I can't go out in public yet?" Dib then asked, concerned he wouldn't be able to hold his antennae down for quite that long yet.

Zim merely smiled however. "You have hair, Dib. Your antennae are fine no matter what they do. They just look like part of your hair unless you actually know what they are." he assured the other in a purr before nuzzling Dib's soft hair. "You have a lot of benefits to being a hybrid...Though I think you'd heal faster...and maybe feel better if you had a PAK...But that's really all up to you." he said with a shrug.

"A PAK?" Dib questioned.

Nodding his head, Zim reached back to touch his own PAK. "Yeah...But I wouldn't say you need one...But if you wanted to use one to heal faster..." he began to say letting his sentence trail off before shaking his head. "But it could screw with your personality..." he seemed to be fighting with himself over whether it would be a good idea or not as he reasoned out all the pros and cons.

"M-My personality? L-Like how? Is YOUR personality different without yours then?" Dib asked, sending Zim a slightly confused look.

Blushing at Dib's question, Zim looked away to the side. "Well...I-I don't really know...I've had my PAK since birth...And it's kind of...Well, it's really defective...So...I have no idea..." he admitted, never having wanted to test that theory to find out.

Facial expression only growing even more confused, Dib could only tilt his head to one side. "It's d-defective? Defective how? Like does it have a mind of its own too? O-Or is it something else?" he asked, trying to understand what the other was telling him.

Shaking his head, Zim couldn't help but sigh. "My PAK...doesn't really control my emotions and personality well...Thanks to it...I find myself often coming up with horrible plans that have no POSSIBLE chance of ever working...But I do them anyways because it tells me they will work...It kind of...screws with my logic, I guess...Which is why you probably shouldn't trust me as much as you do..." he said, his entire body drooping as he bowed his head in defeat somewhat.

"But I do...I can't explain why I do, but so far, you've given me no reason NOT to trust you." Dib reasoned back to him.

Looking away, Zim could only sigh again. "Don't get too used to it...I've made several bad choices already...Doing this to you was the worst one..." he said, now regretting that he had gone through with the procedure.

Staring up at Zim, Dib could only reach up a hand to take one of Zim's own. "Nonsense...I told you to do it...I wanted you to do it...And even though it may not seem like it right now, I at least mentally prepared myself for any pain that resulted from it..." he said, squeezing Zim's hand lightly.

Smiling back down at Dib sadly, Zim squeezed back Dib's hand lightly as well. "You're just saying that, Dib." he said before leaning in to kiss him.

A somewhat hurt look coming to his face at those words, however, Dib pulled away from the kiss instantly. "No, I'm not! I mean it! Every word of it! So please just stop blaming yourself! This is my fault and nobody else's! And even if I had known in advance how much this was going to hurt afterwords, I still would have gone through with it!" he seemed to explode on the other angrily now, upset that Zim was regretting this.

Hanging his head in regret, Zim merely dropped his gaze back down to the ground. "But it was me who gave you the idea in the first place..." he argued back.

"And you think I regret that you told me? Zim, you've saved me...You've saved me from ever having to turn out like my dad..." Dib's voice fell down to a whisper again as he dropped his own gaze away.

Shaking his head at those words, Zim looked back up at him more seriously now. "I put you in serious danger...and almost got us both killed because of it..." he said, deciding then that he would never put Dib through something like that again.

Face falling at Zim's words, Dib could only shake his head in disagreement. "No...No, don't say that...Please...Please don't regret any of this...Not when you know this is what I wanted...Please..." he pleaded with the other, bringing Zim's hand to his cheek and nuzzling it gently. "How can you expect me to trust you when you won't even trust yourself anymore?" he asked, on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

Unable to comprehend what Dib was saying to him, stuck in his own remorseful loop, Zim merely shook his head again. "Y-You never lost your home. I MADE you loose your home!" he said, trying to make the other understand why he couldn't be trusted.

"No, you didn't! How can I make you understand that none of this is your fault? I lost my home long before you even came into my life! My home stopped being home the second my mother died! It has nothing to do with you!" he screamed back at the other, thoroughly upset now.

Realizing this, Zim sighed, refusing to make eye contact with the boy. "You need to relax, Dib...You need to get better..." he changed the subject quickly, knowing this wasn't the time or place to be discussing this.

But Dib merely shook his head, having by now started sobbing. "How can I relax when you won't even believe me about any of this?" he exclaimed, scooting away in the tub, his back pressing up against the opposite end of it as he began to panic. "It's like I just walked into the same situation I was in when I was with my dad still!" he said, looking about the place wild eyed as his breathing began to become uneven.

A horrified look coming to Zim's face at those words, Zim looked back up at the cowering hybrid. "Wh-What do you mean by that?" he exclaimed, feeling a bit offended now.

Just staring back at Zim with wide, fearful eyes, Dib shook his head as he trembled where he sat. "I-I can't stay here...I can't stay here!" he told himself before shoving Zim aside without warning and jumping out of the tub in a panic, managing to pull his pants back on before making a break for the elevator. He didn't want to be trapped in another situation like the one he had just gotten out of.

Surprised by the sudden shove, Zim jumped back up to his feet in a hurry, scared now of what Dib was planning on doing. "Dib? Wait!" he chased after the hybrid, all the while yelling at himself on the inside. "Wh-What have I done...?" he asked himself, his eyes watering up now.

Reaching the elevator before Zim and pressing a button to make it take him up to the house level of the base, Dib turned just in time to see Zim one last time before the elevator doors closed on the other bringing Dib up to the level he wanted to be on where he swiftly making a dash for the front door, just wanting to get away from there.

Having just missed the elevator, and Dib, Zim growled before commanding the computer to stop Dib. Long metallic arms descending from the ceiling, the computer shot them out at Dib before he could reach the door and pinned the hybrid to the wall, allowing Zim time to run upstairs to catch him.

"You AND your sister are staying HERE, Dib!" he said, glaring at Dib as he walked up closer to the struggling boy and pulled out an odd scanning device from his PAK. Then, holding it up to himself, he proceeded to scan himself then Dib afterwords.

"I will be the one leaving..." he said, pressing a button on the scanner, a loud beep sounding throughout the house. "I've just set you up as the sole owner of all of my technology...I am the intruder now...If you hate me so much, I won't bother you again." he said before dropping the device by Dib's feet and turning on his heel to walk swiftly out of the base before the computer let Dib go.

His entire body shaking violently now as he completely broke down, Dib could only sink to the ground and watch as Zim turned to leave the house. "You really are just like him!" he screamed at the Irken before pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face in his arms.

Tears finally seeping out of his eyes and down his face, Zim merely squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "I'm not like him, Dib...I won't let you live on the streets. I want you to be happy...And if that means I need to be taken out of the picture...I will leave..." he said in a suddenly very calm voice as he kept his back to him.

"We don't need your help if you plan on just leaving us! Even if you turn over control to us, we won't stay here if you leave!" Dib then exploded on him again.

Sobbing to himself a little, unable to control himself any longer, Zim turned back on Dib to yell. "WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" he demanded, feeling as though his heart had just been ripped out and stomped on.

Falling silent at Zim's yelling, Dib dropped his gaze to the ground. "Nothing...All we want is to be somewhere where we're not going to be a burden on anybody...We don't want to be somewhere where we're not wanted..." he said, close to breaking down again.

Tears still leaking down his cheeks, Zim didn't understand Dib's words at all. "But you ARE wanted here! I don't want you to leave! Th-That's why I am..." he said, trying to get what he was saying across to Dib.

"...Which is why we can't stay here...Whether you leave or kick us out, you want to leave us...It doesn't matter what your reason for leaving us is...It doesn't change the fact that you have a reason for wanting to...You're leaving because we're a burden on you! If you really want me to be happy, then why don't you go ahead and just go through with killing me already? You wanted to for years after all!" Dib glared back at the Irken, just wanting to end this cycle before it began again.

Despite what the Irken said, he knew it was a burden on the other to keep them around, Zim's regret over everything he had done since they had moved in more than enough proof of that.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 For those of you who were waiting for that drama to kick back in, there it be for you. =3 And even more drama shall follow in the next chapter, which should be posted by Tuesday. So you should all be looking forward to that. But until then, we hope you guys enjoy this quick Thanksgiving Day update. Until next time~ 8D Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed. =3

To Casykirby: Yep. 78, actually now that another week has gone by. And even more than that if I weren't so lazy getting chapters converted from script to narrative. But oh well. That's still so far from where you guys are in reading, it doesn't really matter. The point is, it's a LONG story. Hell, 78 chapters into this story, I'll still be telling you people you've barely made a dent in the actual story. That is, if you guys all stay with us for that long. But we'll see. Anyways, as for your question, yes, Notgonnadie is an artist. We're both artists. Only difference is that she's actually good at what she does. I'm very...eh...not good, unless I spend weeks at a time on one piece. She's able to throw her pieces together rather quickly though. One of the best artists I've met. Her work is all over the internet if you just look for it. Lots of IZ art, the majority of it being for different comics she makes. Her story lines are awesome too. Some of the most original work you'll find out there. I'd say you could find her over on DA, but she left that site a few months back. People on DA can be such jerks. _ There are some links to her work in my profile, mainly of pictures pertaining to this story, though I haven't checked to see whether those links still work or not. She may have taken them down when she left DA. I'm not quite sure. I haven't been online much there these past few months either and therefore, haven't really checked. Perhaps later tonight I'll post a few links to websites I know she's currently active on though. Her work really is worth giving a look. Eh...I wouldn't say you're disturbing people. Compared to some of the comments we get for this story, yours are pretty normal. Your reaction isn't too much different from everybody else reading this story. So don't worry about it. And, yes. Your comment did come in before Cat Human this week. XD Your comment came in before EVERYBODY'S this week. As such, I'm replying to you first. We're glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much, as always. And I wouldn't say Gaz was SICKENED by the idea of bathing Dib. More like respecting the fact that Dib probably wouldn't want her seeing him naked. She's only really disgusted at the idea of what he must look like having alien genatalia now. Who KNOWS what Dib might have gained with that procedure. XD Anyways, here be the next new chapter. So we hope you enjoy and have a Happy Thanksgiving Day. =3

To Watermelondrea: Lol. XD Yesh! Teh cuddles in this story be full of win. X3 Though NGD and I DO have a habit of breaking up those moments rather frequently, as we did in this chapter. XD So best you enjoy them when they come. But anyways, we're glad to hear you found that last chapter to be so cute. It's one of our favorites for a reason. XD Here be the next update though. Hope you enjoy just as much. =3

To Sapcoat: Lol. Awwwz...Don't worry about it. =3 We understand that you guys have all got lives outside of reading this story. So don't worry too much about not reviewing every chapter. We're just glad to have you back again. =3 And we look forward to hearing from you again come future chapters. =3 So thank you for taking the time to write us. Until next time~!

To Vithian: Lol. XD Well, we're glad then. Hopefully this update will make you feel just as warm and fuzzy as it always does. And thank you so much for the kind words. 8D We're really happy to hear we're managing to pull off the unexpected in this story for you. =3 It's hard work but always worth the time put into it. And quite satisfying when we know we've pulled off a pre-planned scene exactly as we planned it. I agree with you. I LOVE taking baths. They're so warm and soothing. Unfortunately, I don't get to take too many because my mom thinks their a waste of water. DX I guess I'll just have to settle for showers then. Oh well. As for DADR, if you just become aware of the fact that it's out there and is fairly popular, you'll start seeing it everywhere. XD You just have to be conscious of it. The same thing happens with other pairings as well. If you're conscious of them, you'll start seeing more of them. In fact, I think that's true for ALL pairings. Even ZADR, which is so popular to begin with, you have to be conscious of before you realize how popular it really is. Hell, I know lots of people who never would have thought of that pairing beforehand had I not mentioned it to them. That's another reason why OC stories rarely work. People really have to be in tune with the IZ universe and its original pairings before they can start just throwing in random OCs. The same goes for ALL fandoms. I used to read lots of Sonic the Hedgehog stories. Some OC stories worked, others didn't. It just depended on whether the writers did their homework on the fandom before starting. NGD and I would never pair an OC with an original character though. Perhaps two crossover characters (NGD's favorite pairing is the "Other ZADR": Zim and Danny from Danny Phantom), but never just a random OC. The OCs we plant in this story play major roles but don't take away from Zim or Dib in the least. So thanks for the awesome review. =3 And we can't wait to hear from you again next chapter. =3

To Cat Human: In response to both of your reviews, first of all, we don't end the chapters puposefully. I have a measuring system to keep them all relatively the same length. So any cliff hangers that occur are for the sake of not having uneven chapters. The only chapters I try to make exceptions for are the adult ones since I would never think to end a chapter in the middle of a sex scene. Zim wouldn't do anything to Dib though while he's obviously already hurting. Mainly because of the fact that he's already the reason Dib's hurting in the first place. But as you'll see in this chapter, Dib doesn't make things all too easy on himself either. So it's kind of hard to initiate a sex scene when he's already hysterical. That's why we have to pull you guys along until the actually sex scene. If you got bored too early on into this story, you'd never reach that Chapter 34. XD But as for what you heard from CasyKirby, you guys need to pay better attention to what I say on here. I NEVER said we were going to stop posting here. What I said was that we're not going to post CHAPTER 34 here. Chapters 35, 36, 37, etc. will all be posted here. They do not contain sex scenes. Chapter 34 HAS to be posted on another site because it DOES contain a sex scene. And like I've been saying, when the time comes, I will post a link to that chapter in my profile. But no earlier because as of yet we have not reached that point in the story on here. So be patient and just enjoy the updates as they come. Like today's update. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD Yes, but shhh...Don't give anything away. Just enjoy taking in what you didn't notice the first time around. =3 Because it's so nice catching on to those sorts of things through a second reading. XD As for your question this week, after reading through the summaries you gave me, I'd have to say I could probably be persuaded to read your sequel, but the first story, probably not. Even though they're combined, that plot line in the first one is, like I told Vithian, something I try to avoid in OC stories. The second story, however, sounds more promising as an OC story. It's a story that I can see as having OC's that don't interfere too much with the original IZ plotline or its characters. And it sounds as though the OC's would be taking on side roles that would be necessary to progress the plot rather than major roles that interfere. So much love to you for keep up with our story. (Huggles) And we hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving today. 8D

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Lol. XD We're glad to hear it, as always. Have a Happy Thanksgiving. 8D Here be a new chapter for you to be thankful for. =3

To heartofstone15: Lol. XD Yes, I do have a habit of overusing smilies. =3 But they're the best way one can get their emotions across to people over the internet. =3 And yes, Membrane does kind of suck, for now at least. But do cut him SOME slack. He's not the worst character in this story, as you'll see later on. NGD and I actually do both like his character overall. But poor Zimmeh and Dibbeh definitely suffer the most in this story. We torment them so much. XD And to think, you guys have barely even seen the extent of our tormenting them. This is only just the very beginning. Things are bound to get MUCH worse as you continue reading. XD Though we do cut them some slack at certain points throughout the story. So don't worry. =3 We're not completely heartless. Tormenting them is just our way of keeping this story interesting for you guys. So we hope you enjoy the chapters to come and have a truly Happy Thanksgiving Day. =3

To maliceofhumansacrifice: Oh, no problem at all. =3 We're not trying to rush anyone when it comes to reviewing this story. So please do take your time. =3 There are more important things that commenting. Like your little brother. =3 Sounds like quite an eventful day you had there. Though I wouldn't go around kicking police officers' asses. ^^; That could put YOU in very bad position at the end of the day. But I'm glad to hear it was nothing serious. =3 And yes, Gaz can be quite funny at times in this story. And I think she enjoys finding ways to tease Zim. XD I really would like to see how Zim would react on the show, but unfortunately, I highly doubt such a scene would ever actually take place in the show. XD It'd be awesome if it did though. It certainly would add to the ZADRy goodness of the IZ universe. XD

To OneeDomo: Well, hello there. 8D So nice of you to join us. We're really happy to hear you're enjoying our story so much. 8D And don't worry. Dibbeh will recover soon enough. XD He may just be sore for the next several chapters, but at least he's somewhat up on his feet now, as you can see in this chapter. And Chapter 34 be approaching slowly but surely. =3 I'll have a link to it in my profile later on in the story. So you may want to keep an eye open for it as this story progresses. As for what Gaz meant when she said she was gay, you'll see soon enough who she's gay for. I'm not saying any names yet since I don't want to ruin it for anybody. But it's pretty obvious given I state the pairings in the summery of this story. XD And the chapters for this story are already written out LONG before we actually post. We could have posted 78 chapters or more by now had we really wanted to. But I don't have all the time in the world to post several chapters at a time. That's why this story is only updated weekly. Because I have a life outside of updating this story. So do be patient. =3 This story WILL be updated regularly. The only reason it's late this week is because I wanted to post it as a Thanksgiving special. Otherwise, it's usually updated on Tuesdays. So feel free to check back with us then. =3 And we shall do our best to keep this story as interesting as possible for you people. So we hope you enjoy this Thanksgiving update and hope to hear back from you again really soon. =3 Thanks for the awesome review. Until next time~

AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL!~~~


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Alright. For those of you wondering why I'm posting this chapter so late in the week, it's because I got hammered with an 8 page paper two days before it was due again. So no complaining, you guys. Just be thankful I'm even getting it up this week. Because I STILL have homework due later today. But I've decided not to keep you all waiting any longer and get this next chapter of ZADR Orange up before I do anything else. So without further ado, here be the long awaited Chapter 28. Hope you guys all had an awesome Thanksgiving, and remember, feedback be much appreciated. =3 Oh, and much thanks to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Gaz: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Completely deadpanning at Dib's words, Zim sent the hybrid a shocked look. "Wh-What? K-Kill you? I-I CAN'T KILL YOU! DON'T YOU GET IT? I LOVE YOU, OKAY? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE EVERYTHING SO DIFFICULT? You know what? FINE! You want someone to die in order to settle this! Then go ahead and KILL ME! GET FAMOUS! VIDEOTAPE YOUR GRAND DISSECTION OF ME! WE ALL KNOW YOU WANT TO!" he countered back, throwing Dib slightly off guard.

A new flood of tears streaming down his cheeks, Dib had by now sunk down in his spot even more at Zim's own words. "B-But I...I don't...I-I don't want that...All I want is to be with my mom again..." his voice came out in a quiet whisper as he bowed his head and began crying uncontrollably to himself, no longer having the fight left in him to argue with Zim or even speak at this point.

Baring his teeth and growling at that response, Zim seemed to be having an emotional overload as a few sparks shot out from his PAK and fell to the ground behind him, lighting some of the dry grass under him on fire. "Well, you CAN'T, DIB! She's DEAD! And NOTHING can change that!" he screamed back angrily at the other.

Flinching back at Zim's yelling, not noticing the fire at first, Dib could only stare up at Zim with a look similar to that of a kicked puppy.

More sparks flying from his PAK, Zim only continued to scream, his eyes clenched shut, preventing him from seeing the look on Dib's face. "AND NOW! I-I give you EVERYTHING I have...and you STILL HATE ME! I CAN'T DO ANYMORE! I'VE GIVEN YOU MY HOME, MY HEART, MY EVERYTHING!" he stomped his foot, pulling at his antennas in frustration as his own tears were streaming down his face full force now.

His breathing shaky now as he could no longer keep his gaze focused on the Irken but only on the ground in front of him, Dib sat completely paralyzed in his spot, unable to bring himself to say even one word for fear that the other might lash out at him even more.

Falling to knees just as soon as he had finished ranting at the other, Zim sobbed uncontrollably to himself as a few more sparks continued to shoot out of his PAK, slowly diminishing as his earlier anger seemed to leave just as quickly as it had come.

Shifting his tear-filled gaze up enough to notice for the first time that Zim's lawn was on fire once the other had stopped yelling at him, Dib's eyes grew wide as all he could do at first was bring up a shaking hand to point behind the Irken at the flames beginning to build up upon each other, growing higher with each passing second. But the other didn't seem to notice as he was too busy crying to himself.

"No...No!" he finally managed to force out before bolting to his feet and pushing Zim out of the way of the flames before they blocked them both in. Then turning to search through the base in a panic, Dib called out for his sister as the smoke began to fill the rooms. "Gaz! Gaz! Where are you?" he screamed, first checking for her in the room Zim had given her to stay in.

Sitting up in his spot after having been shoved to the ground roughly, Zim finally noticed the flames himself and gasped. "DIB? GAZ?" he frantically looked around before noticing the fire hydrant in front of his house. "That will do!" he said to himself before rushing over to it and using everything he had to try and open it with his spider legs.

Running to the elevator when he was unsuccessful in locating his sister, Dib then told it to take him down so he could search the lower half of the base for Gaz. Exiting it about 30 seconds later, he stopped dead in his tracks when he realized the lab was completely filled with smoke now, the fire having spread from the lawn through electrical wires that had been connected to the lawn gnomes outside.

Recovering quickly, he wasted no time in wading through the smoke to continue searching for her blindly. "Gaz! Gaz!" he called out, coughing into his hands when all his yelling only served to make him inhale a bunch of smoke. After a good two or three minutes of searching however, he just about gave up on finding her when he suddenly stumbled across what looked to be his sister's body. Panicking, he rushed to her side. "Gaz!" he exclaimed, falling to his knees next to her and pulling her into his arms to shake gently. "Gaz...Gaz, please wake up..." he pleaded with her.

Barely conscious at this point, Gaz groaned, something having exploded down in the lab from the fire and knocked her out cold. "Wh-What hit me?" she asked as she slowly began to come to, bringing a hand up to rub her head.

"There's no time to figure that out right now. We have to get out of here!" Dib said, helping her back to her feet before leading her back towards the elevator the best he could. Managing to pull her in with him, he then told the elevator to take them back up. Feeling the elevator beginning to lift them back up for all of 20 seconds, Dib stumbled forward with Gaz when it jolted to a stop all of a sudden, everything going dark as all the power seemed to go offline suddenly.

Meanwhile, back outside with Zim, said Irken continued to struggle a moment more before finally succeeding in ripping open the hydrant, gushing water all over the yard and base. Getting caught in the blast himself, however, he was left to get blasted by the water pumping out of the hydrant at a high velocity. The gushing water put out the fire, but unfortunately it followed the fires previous path along the wires and therefore caused the base to short circuit.

Merely hanging inside the elevator, Dib found himself completely unable to do anything at this point to help their current situation when he suddenly felt a drop of water on his head and looked up, realizing that water was dripping through into the elevator with them. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" he slammed his fist against the door desperately as he now felt the water building up very quickly around their ankles, the fire now the last thing on his mind. "HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP US!" he screamed, trying to get ANYBODY'S attention at this point.

His skin burning and in severe pain, Zim stumbled unsteadily back into the base and began banging on random panels. "DIB! DIB, WHERE ARE YOU?" he screamed, unaware that they were trapped in the elevator.

Stopping his banging upon hearing Zim's voice, Dib looked up with wide eyes. "Zim? ZIM!" he continued to pound his fist on the door as loud as he possibly could. "WE'RE DOWN HERE IN THE ELEVATOR! IT'S NOT WORKING, AND IT'S QUICKLY FILLING WITH WATER!" he screamed before looking back down and realizing that it was now nearly up to their waists.

Eyes widening when he heard Dib's voice, Zim gasped at his words. "HOLD ON! I'M COMING TO GET YOU!" he instructed the other before rushing to the elevator shaft to rip the top off with his PAK legs so he could crawl down into it to the elevator. Then, pulling out a laser from his PAK, he set to work beginning to melt a hole out of the top of it.

The water just about at his chest and already at Gaz's neck, Dib didn't notice the hole being made in the top until sparks began raining down from the top of the elevator above them. "ZIM! HURRY!" he screamed as Gaz was on her last few moments of air.

Putting on the speed, finally cutting out a good sized square, Zim tossed it aside and reached his hand down into the elevator. "GRAB MY HAND!" he told them, adrenaline the only thing keeping him moving at this point.

Wrapping an arm tightly around Gaz's waist, Dib did as he was told and reached up his hand the best he could to take Zim's, managing to get a good enough hold on it so Zim could hoist them up out of the overflowing elevator and climb back up the elevator shaft before collapsing, dropping him and Gaz onto the ground.

Laying there for a few long moments, panting and holding his sister close, Dib blinked his eyes open enough to realize that he was covered in blood though not his own. Looking over at Zim wide-eyed, he realized the Irken's body was completely covered in it now. "Zim!" he screamed, crawling over to his prone body on the floor, unable to make out any movement from the other at all. "Oh, God...Oh, God...This is so much worse than when you fell in the pond at the park..." he said, afraid to touch Zim for fear of hurting him. But lifting the alien up into his arms nonetheless, he wasted no time at all in carrying him over to the couch to lay down carefully.

Unable to move, his body finally giving out once he know Gaz and especially Dib were safe, Zim doubted whether he'd ever want to see water again in his LIFE. But thankfully for him, the hydrant had at least finally run out by now.

Still panting heavily, Dib swallowed thickly. "Dammit...I have to find him some towels or SOMETHING!" he said before pushing himself up to start searching through the top rooms in the base for anything he could use to dry Zim off. Fortunately for him, he managed after a minute or so of searching to find a closet in the same hallway Gaz's room was in that was stocked with several warm looking blankets. "I guess these will have to do for now." he said to himself before grabbing one of them and rushing back out into the living room, not hesitating to take off Zim's clothes first before wrapping the blanket around him and trying to rub some warmth into his body.

Shivering non-stop at this point, Zim didn't even realize he was being moved at all as he shook in Dib's arms.

Meanwhile, Gaz sat in the middle of the floor, trying to ring out some of the water from her clothes. "Come on, Dib! Leave him there! He'll be fine!" she said as she got back to her feet and made her way over to the front door, arms crossed. "We're LEAVING! I've had enough of HIM!" she glared at Zim. "This was the final straw! He's trying to KILL us!" she exclaimed, just wanting to get out of there while they were both still alive to do so.

Eyes growing wide at his sister's words, Dib turned in his spot to look back at her. "No, he's not! This was all an accident! He was just about to leave when that fire started! And he turned over all control of his base to me, so who knows what it might do to him when it comes back online if we leave!" he tried to convince her otherwise.

Merely glaring at him however, Gaz grabbed Dib by the arm. "I. DON'T. CARE. DIB! He's put you in danger for the last time! If he dies, it's none of our business! I know you were just about to leave him anyways! Who's to say he didn't plan all of this to keep you here?" she said, tightening her grip on him and narrowing her eyes as she began leading him back towards the front door.

Struggling for a moment against her, Dib finally managed to pull his hand away. "Listen! This is the last time I'm going to say this! None of what's happened over the past couple of days is his fault! It's not his fault Dad kicked us out of the house! And it's not his fault that I got sick! I asked him to change my DNA! He was just doing what I told him to! So if you're going to blame anybody for all of this, you might as well blame me! Now, I can understand if you want to leave here, but I'm not going anywhere!" he said firmly, not about to just leave Zim's side when the other needed him.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 Poor Zimmeh though. D8 He just can't seem to catch a break from water these days, can he? Anyways, next chapter will hopefully be up on time next week. Hopefully. But no promises. The last weeks of school are always the most hectic for me, and I know for a fact I have another paper due next week as well as several finals to begin studying for. So just bare with me. Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed. =3

To Casykirby: Well, thank you. =3 Yes, it is quite sad that they're fighting again. And I wouldn't say it clears up anytime soon really. But you'll see what I mean by that in a few chapters. As for what Cat Human told you, that may be true, but I'd rather not give out links here on FF. If I were just going to do that, I wouldn't have started posting the story here. DA doesn't host the entire story because people on DA were pissing us off. So that only leaves one other website this story will be fully posted on. To find the link to that website, however, you'd have to do some outside research yourself. Notgonnadie and I have posted the link on several other websites, so it's really not that hard to find. Here on FF though, we refuse to just give it out unless we actually have a need to (ie. Chapter 34). We're not preventing people from finding it themselves, but we'd like to keep a portion of our fanbase here on FF. Mainly because when people read it here, they're less lazy when it comes to leaving reviews. On all the other sites we've ever posted it on, people just read it and give us little to no feedback, usually because they're too lazy to sign in quickly or make an account. That pisses us off. We don't force people to review, but if they were avid reviewers on one site then stop reviewing the second we move it to a new site, it's really a pain in the ass and makes us less motivated to actually work on this story. And to be honest, it's the reviews we get here on FF that motivate us the most. So I PREFER you people read here. We've already lost a few FF readers to the other sites who stopped reviewing because they figure it doesn't matter anymore to keep in contact with us. But we actually LIKE getting to know our fans, so it's kind of a downer when we lose you guys on here.

To Meta-Knight-1-fan: Lol. XD Here's an even more unexpected turn of events. XD And don't worry. Zimmeh would never do that to Dibbeh. Though, I can't say Gaz would agree with me on that point. XD

To Sapcoat: Well, thank you. =3 And thank you for actually being the first person to wish NGD a happy birthday. =3 Yes, this story be just full of drama nearly every chapter. XD But that's what keeps you people reading. So we're glad you enjoyed it. =3 As for your question, I'd have to say Gaz's reaction was probably closest to "ready to kick Zim's butt" as can be seen in today's chapter. XD But anyways, we hope you enjoyed said chapter. =3 So until next time~

To Watermelondrea: Well, thank you! 8D Yes, this story does have a tendency to have that effect on people. This story and onions. XD They're really not a very good mix. But anyways, as for whether Dib leaves Zim or not, I'm afraid you'll have to wait another chapter or so before finding out. Until then, however, here be a new chapter. =3 Hope you enjoy. =3

To heartofstone15: Yep, and they suffer even more in this one. But you'll see whether they make up in a chapter or so. XD

To Vithian: Yep. Her birthday's November 20th. =3 So thank you for the shout out. And happy late birthday to you as well. =3 I'm sorry to hear you don't get to celebrate Thanksgiving over there in Australia. D8 That really does suck lots of ass. I have a friend who about a year and a half ago moved to England and was devistated when she found out they weren't going to be celebrating Thanksgiving anymore. And it was one of her favorite holidays too. I know she wants to move back here to the states, but her mom says she can't come until after she's graduated high school and entered college. Unfortunately, that won't be for another 4 years or so. DX But anyways, yes. NGD and I do feel oh so warm and fuzzy after a day of tormenting both Zim and Dib. XD And I know what you mean. My bathtub is too small too. I'd still like to use it though. My mom won't let me, however. She says it's primarily for our cat and dog whenever we give them baths. And of course, THEY don't enjoy it. (Pouts) Lucky little buggers. I forget how I found ZADR. I actually think I was already drawing it at the time but just didn't have a name for it yet until I started looking it up and realizing lots of people already drew the pairing. XD Sonic the Hedgehog was my very first fandom though. I grew up with Sonic the Hedgehog. Drew and wrote stories about it until the time I switched over to IZ. I still love the fandom, but I do less for it nowadays. It's kind of a trend of mine. I'll stay with one fandom for YEARS at a time before finding one that can rival it. I'd really love to switch back to Sonic the Hedgehog though. When I left the fandom, I left several unfinished ideas for stories in my head. I should attempt getting back to those. It'd be fun. =3 And Sonic the Hedgehog has always inspired me in my writing, even if my old stories from back then sucked ass. Revisions. That's what I need to do. Perhaps I'll work on that later today. As for the "Other ZADR," that pairing has really grown on me thanks to NGD. You should try looking up a few of her stories and comics. She's written plenty. And they really are adorable. o3o You should feel loved. (Hug) We certainly do. So thank you for always reading and reviewing. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Well, thank you. 8D Teh interaction was needed though. Can't progress the plot without action. XD And there's plenty more of that to come. But don't worry. It's not ALL sad. Dib does have that kind of personality in this story though. Not that he can really help it when everything that could possibly go wrong in his life does. Lol. XD But anyways, as for your question(s), no. I don't think you've asked that question before. And if you mean "Special Someone" as in a lover, I'm doubtful he'll be finding anyone like that in this story. Though, you never know. We haven't finished writing yet. So perhaps we'll think about it. But so far as we've written, no. I'd say Dib and Gaz's mother was the closest "Special Someone" he's come to as of yet in this story. And she's dead. So yeah. We'll see how things unfold from where we are in writing the story. We shall indeed keep it up to the best of our abilities. And much thanks to you for the shout out to NGD. =3 We really appreciate it. (Hug) Until next time~

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Woot! Glad to hear ! XD

To DTDY: Well, hello there, new reviewer! 8D So nice of you to join us! We're so happy to hear you're enjoying our story so much. =3 And we hope you didn't kill your brain or eyes reading through it so quickly. XD Here be an update to satisfy your ZADR Orange needs. And hopefully the next one will be up by Tuesday, given homework doesn't get in the way too much. Surely this new chapter will give you a clear idea of what both Zim's and Gaz's reactions were like. Anyways. We hope to hear from you again soon. =3 So until next time~


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: ...Yep...Another late chapter. I think I'm going to stop trying to set deadlines for myself and just update when I find the time because honestly, school is draining me. Hell, you guys should consider yourselves lucky I'm even updating this week with teachers breathing down my neck. But the good news is, I only have one more week left of school before break. So yeah. Just hang in there and bare with me. With that said, here be the next update of ZADR Orange. Chapter 29 for those of you who have been waiting oh so patiently. Much love to those of you who have faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And as always, feedback be much appreciated. =3 So without further ado, we hope you all enjoy this quick update.

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Gaz/Random Irken Drone/ Tallest Red: Notgonnadie

Dib/Irken/Gir: Me

Random Irken Technician: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Not giving up on trying to convince Dib to leave Zim yet, Gaz merely narrowed her eyes on her brother at his words. "But wasn't HE just about to leave you?" she threw back at him, having heard them arguing earlier.

The pain from their earlier argument still there, Dib's expression fell a bit at her question. "Yes...But...But he had good intentions at least, unlike dad...He said he was only leaving because he thought I hated him, and because he just wanted me to be happy..." his voice came out quiet, antennae drooping.

"Pfft. Yeah right. He just doesn't want to be around you. Do you even have ANY idea what he was doing while you were unconscious? He was ripping your organs out!" Gaz exclaimed, glaring over at him.

Eyes growing wide at her words, Dib seemed to freeze in his spot. "He was what?" he asked, wanting to make sure he had heard right as he pulled away from her, taking a few unsteady steps backwards. "Well, I'm sure it was necessary...I mean, I never asked him what the specifics of this procedure were going to be..." he tried to reason it out to himself, bringing a hand up to hold his head.

Shaking her head, Gaz only continued to glare over at him. "Please, Dib. If I hadn't been there watching him, he would have pulled you apart, and you would have NEVER woken up." she tried to convince him otherwise.

Antennae falling back even more, Dib could only shake his head. "Y-You're lying...Zim would never...He loves me, goddammit!" he screamed back at her, not wanting to believe that Zim would do something like that to him.

Getting annoyed now, Gaz growled out lowly. "Grow up, Dib! NOBODY loves EITHER of us!" she said with finality in her voice.

Feeling as though his very heart were being painfully ripped out of his chest at Gaz's words, Dib's wide eyes seemed to glaze over as he felt his already unsteady legs shake even more before giving out from underneath him, causing him to fall down to his knees and just stare down at the ground, not wanting to believe what she was saying to him. "No...N-No, you're wrong...Zim...H-He..."he tried to protest but fell silent after a moment, unable to continue. Feeling too emotionally worn out to argue with her any longer, he then bowed his head in defeat.

"That's what I thought." Gaz finally said when her words seemed to have gotten through to him before turning on her heel. "Come on, Dib. We're leaving." she said before storming out of the house, splashing through the soaked yard. "COME ON, DIB!" she then yelled back into the house again when she had reached the sidewalk.

Hearing the conversation himself, but unable to react due to the amount of pain he was in, Zim could feel tears sliding from his eyes as Gaz stormed out of the house, shouting at Dib to leave. He didn't WANT Dib to leave. "D-Diii..."he tried to sound out the others name, but it came out as a pained gargle.

Merely remaining kneeling where he was for several long moments, almost lifelessly now, Dib was unable to hear Zim before noticing that same scanning device Zim had used on him earlier laying on the ground near him.

Reaching out to take it, praying that it would still work despite the power being out at the moment, he then stood up and repeated Zim's earlier actions, first scanning himself then approaching the couch to scan Zim. Placing it in the Irken's hand so his thumb was on the button afterwords, not realizing that the other was awake at the moment, Dib hoped he would understand nonetheless what to do when he woke up.

"When the power comes back online, press this button and the base should be back under your control..." he whispered quietly to the other, running his fingers over Zim's hand one last time, though this time emotionless. "I'm sorry..." he then apologized before finally turning to leave upon hearing his sister calling him one last time, knowing that at least Gir would be home soon to help Zim.

Still unable to move and therefore stop Dib from leaving him, Zim could only shake a little as he sobbed heavily to himself, unable to do any more than that.

Having already exited the house, however, Dib approached his sister slowly, little emotion in his dazed expression. "Where do you have in mind to stay?" he asked, knowing they couldn't go home.

Walking ahead of him, Gaz merely began making her way towards the school. "I'm waiting on a response from a friend. Until then, we'll just stay at school. I know how to break in." she said, having had this planned since before Zim and Dib had even had their argument.

"Okay..." Dib just began to slowly walk after her, his gaze fixed on the ground in front of him.

Meanwhile, on the Massive, a random drone approached Red with some charts in hand. "Here are those charts you asked for, my Tallest. " he said, handing them over to Red.

Taking them from the drone, Red smirked after he had gotten a good look at them, his counterpart currently taking a nap in their chambers. "Interesting...I think that human was the best thing to ever happen to Irk...Ever since Zim left with him, he's gotten closer to death more times than I care to count...Hmm...But it's still not quite enough...YOU! Tech!" he then pointed at some random technician on-board.

"Yes, sir?" the technician instantly straightened himself out and turned to salute Red.

"Connect me to planet Dirt." Red instructed the technician.

Saluting again, the technician then turned to a screen in front of him. "Yes, my Tallest!" he said before sending out a transmission to planet Dirt, transferring the call to a large screen in the room as they waited for it to pick up.

Tapping his claws impatiently against his armor, the transmission was soon answered by another Irken with dark, purple eyes.

"My Tallest!" the Irken seemed surprised by who was calling her as she stood up straight and saluted him.

"Ah, I'd hoped you would answer. We have a...secret mission for you." Red grinned evilly.

Back on Earth, Zim remained where he was on the couch, slowly healing bit by bit, allowing him the ability to once again sit up and move around a little. But the power still had yet to come back online, which left him sitting in complete darkness not to mention the cold. "Dib..." the others name slipped past his lips as he shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around himself for more warmth.

A bag of tacos in hand and a taco hat on his head, it was at about this point that Gir came trotting into the base. "Hi, Mastah! I'm hoooome!" the little android cooed out before closing the open door behind him.

"G-Gir?" Zim sniffed, wiping at his eyes. "Y-You're home early..." he said, still shivering though this time more with emotion than from the cold.

"Dat's cause I missed joo, Mastah!" Gir claimed before glomping onto Zim, causing the other to let out a pained noise. "And I gots you tacos!" he said, holding out the greasy bag of tacos to Zim, all the while smiling cheerfully, his tongue hanging out.

Smiling sadly at Gir, Zim merely shook his head. "You know I can't eat tacos, Gir." he reminded the other before taking the bag anyways to set down next to him.

Seeming to notice Zim's sadness, Gir's little antennae then drooped down a bit. "D'awww...What's wrong, Mastah? Why you so sad?" he asked, wrapping his stubby little arms around Zim's waist the best he could, wanting to comfort the other.

Unable to help himself, Zim could only start crying a little again as he wrapped his own arms around Gir and held him tightly. "He left me...He just up and left me! I saved his life again, and he left me!" he exclaimed before breaking down even more.

Little antennae drooping even more when Zim began crying, Gir merely tilted his head to the side somewhat confusedly. "Da Big-Head Boy? But he loved you. He loved you so much." he said before hugging Zim tighter.

Zim could only shake his head at that though. "No...He left..." his voice came out in a whisper now as his antennae drooped.

Not knowing how to respond, Gir could only stare up at his master with an equally sad expression on his face.

Sighing when he got no response from the other save for a sad look, Zim leaned back on the couch and pet Gir gently. "The power's out, Gir...Can you fix it?" he asked though he didn't expect much from the other.

Merely nodding his head in response, Gir then wriggled out of Zim's lap to rocket down into the lab so he could play around with the circuitry until the power came back online. Returning a few minutes later as the lights flickered back on, Gir was all smiles again as he approached the couch. "I fixed it!" he jumped about excitedly.

Smiling sadly as the other began doing a little victory dance, Zim went ahead and pressed the button on the scanner so he wouldn't get kicked of the base and settled back into the couch. "Thank you..." he thanked the little android before closing his eyes and sighing.

Smile still remaining on his face though weaker now, Gir then crawled back up onto the couch. "Mastah want some soup?" he asked, trying to think of something nice he could do for Zim to make him feel better.

Said Irken merely shrugged. "I don't care..." he said, not really hungry but at the same time not wanting to completely crush Gir's spirit when he was trying to do something nice for him.

Reaching into his head and pulling out a rubber piggy, Gir placed it next to Zim before leaving to make the soup. "You stay here and keep Matah company, pig, while I go make him some soup!" he instructed the toy before running off into the kitchen to begin making the Irken some soup, undoubtedly making a mess at the same time.

Sighing yet again, Zim took the pig and smiled a little before curling up on the couch to rest some more.

Returning to the living room about 15 minutes later with a large bowl of steaming hot soup just to find that Zim had fallen asleep, Gir then set the bowl down and climbed up onto the couch with Zim, crawling under the covers to snuggle up to him and close his own eyes.

Meanwhile, with Dib and Gaz, Gaz sighed as she leaned back into one of the cushy chairs they had in the school library. "You might as well get some rest, Dib." she instructed him, closing her eyes as the sun was just setting in the distance.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 Poor Zimmeh again. D8 He just wants to be with his Dibbles, but Dibbeh seems so unsure about everything nowadays. (Sigh) But at least he's got Gir. =3 And who else is worried about what Tallest Red has got in store for Zim and Dib? Obviously it can't be anything good. Anyways, like I said in my earlier author's note, I'm not setting a deadline for myself this week. You guys will get the next chapter when I sit down to work on it. So there. Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed. =3

To ClockwerkOrange: Well, hello there. To be perfectly honest, I'm a little surprised to see you commenting again. You've been gone so long, I thought I might have scared you away. XD We're glad to see you're back again though. =3 Yes, Zim and Dib do suffer oh so much in this story. That's how we role play them though. XD Anyways, we're glad to see we haven't lost you yet. And we shall most certainly continue writing this. =3 I don't think either of us would feel right stopping so close to the end. Though, as mentioned before, where we are in updating this is still FAR from where we are in writing. So try to hang in there. Thanks again for commenting and we hope to hear from you again soon. =3

To Meta-Knight-1-fan: Lol. Well, I can almost guarantee you that there are a lot of things in this story that you won't see coming. Of course, half the time we don't even see them coming until we get around to writing them. That's why I enjoy writing this story with NGD so much. You just can never tell what random ideas we might throw out for it. As for what Gaz will do, I think it's pretty evident from today's update what she had in mind. XD So until next time~

To Vithian: You're quite welcome for the late birthday wishes. =3 Everybody deserves at least one each year, even if it is late. And I think Notgonnadie had a pretty good birthday. To my knowledge, she received a phone with internet access for her birthday, so I believe she was happy come the end of the day. As for Thanksgiving, it can be fun at times though I only really enjoy the food. Getting together with family to celebrate however, not as much fun. I come from a family with several aunts and uncles but very few cousins. The cousins I DO have live in another state and are several years older than me. Because they don't really mingle with the rest of our family, the conversation of reproduction therefore falls on me and my older brother, though mostly on me. -_-; They keep asking when we're planning on having kids because everybody else in the family is getting old and dying off. I don't plan on having kids though until at least after I've graduated. And at the rate I'm getting classes in this economy, that won't be for a long while still. Damn budget cuts. (Sigh) At least I don't have to meet up with the rest of my family too many times during the year. Though Christmas IS coming up soon, which means another family get together. DX But at least it's fun still. =3 I'll just take a few shots and hide out in my room for the day until it's time to open presents. XD But enough about that. Your bathtub is used to clean your brother's trombone? Well, that's certainly a strange use for it. XD But at least it's being used. =3 I know how you feel though. Finding the time for stuff like that can be difficult at times. I limit my bathtimes to vacations when I'm at hotels and such. Otherwise, I get yelled at if I spend more than even 10 minutes in the shower. -_-; But oh well. I can see how those two fandoms were your first that contained slash. A lot of people seem to like them. Though, honestly, even though I like the fandoms, I don't like them enough to really read into any of the stories or write for them. They came a little later in my life than the ones I obsess over nowadays. Sonic, I grew up with, and IZ came out back when I was in eighth grade. So that fandom got REALLY lucky. As for Sonic, however, I loved the shows, I collect the comics, and I still play the games, though not the newer ones. The last game I played was Sonic Heroes I believe. After that, I couldn't bring myself to continue buying them. I do own every game before that though. Fanart and stories for that fandom didn't come until after playing Sonic Adventure 2: Battle though for me. Love that game SO much. I should play it later. It's been a long time since I've taken care of my chao. XD And I own a LOT. Broke my gamecube though, which sucks because now I need to use my Wii to play them. Enough of my rambling though. Thanks for being so patient with me when it comes to updates and listening to my ramblings. XD Life most certainly DOES get in the way a LOT. But soon enough I'll be on break and able to get updates up more regularly. So you can look forward to that soon enough. (Hug) Until next time~ =3

To Exogorth (In response to both your reviews): Yes, Zim and Dib did doom the Earth to a horrible fate. XD But as you can see now that you've caught up, it be saved again. =3 Anyways, we're glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much and let me be the first to welcome you as another one of our newer reviewers. We're so happy you decided to join us. =3 Indeed, life does tend to get hectic at times, but I always manage to find at least a little bit of time for typing. I wouldn't be much of a writer if I didn't. XD Thank goodness a good portion of my homework centers around writing to begin with though. So I CAN'T go any longer than a week without having something new written out. As for how quickly you read, you may want to slow down now that you've caught up because I only update weekly here. Gives you people time to soak in the entire chapter before moving on. And don't let this story distract you too much from your homework either. Don't want to get in trouble for receiving any bad grades. The torture will still be here when you get back. XD And in some ways, Zim does deserve it, but he doesn't deserve EVERYTHING we have planned to do to him later in the story. Neither does Dib really. But our tormenting them keeps this story interesting. So we shall continue until the very end. The happy ending we have planned though will be ten times sweeter because of all that torment. X3 So we hope you continue to read and enjoy. Until next time~ =3

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Yayz! 8D

To DTDY: Oh, yes. That speech be so...Dib-like. XD

To heartofstone15: Well, as you can see, things didn't really go over too well in today's chapter. But fear not. Things will eventually work out for the better. You'll see. =3 And indeed. Zim's plan really WASN'T well thought out. But that's Zim for you. Wouldn't have his plans work out any other way. Lol. XD Anyways. Thanks for reading and reviewing. =3 Until next time~

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD See. Aren't you glad now that you're reading the story here? It's things like that last chapter that people have a tendency to miss or forget all about. That's why we update weekly here. And at least you can say it was a nice surprise re-reading through a chapter you didn't remember prior to reading it here. =3 So things all work out. Anyways, as for your weekly question, no, we have not. But NGD and I aren't the one's who are going to be coming up with those names. We currently have a fanart contest taking place over on DA. The top three winners of said contest will be submitting two lists of gendered names from which we will choose from. So no. No names yet. The contest isn't over yet and we don't plan on ending it until close to the end of writing the story, which we still have a ways to go on. With that said, thank you for reading and reviewing each week. You rock. ^_^ (Huggles)

To Casykirby: Indeed! Quite late, but not the last person to review this past week. XD Anyways. Yes. Lots of excitement for you. Also lots of sadness. But those are the aspects which keep this story interesting. And no. It doesn't really clear up. At least, not right away it doesn't. You'll see what I mean by that later in the story though. Zim and Dib have a very unstable relationship throughout a lot of this story. It's only just now beginning to strengthen where NGD and I are writing it. But we're glad to hear you're still enjoying it so much. =3 And don't worry. They never stay apart for too, too long. And, as I've been saying, the ending we're shooting for WILL be a happy one. So keep up the reading and we'll look forward to hearing from you each and every week. =3 Because it really is nice to know we'll have at least a few readers continuining to review each chapter that we post. So until next time~ =3

To maliceofhumansacrifice: Oh, well, I'm sorry. But I really can't help how the chapters make you feel. We do warn you people that this story IS a very sad one. Cheer up though. Here be the next chapter to make you feel better. =3 It be full of warm cuddles from Gir. ^.^

To Sapcoat: Lol. XD Yayz! Indeed. Water can be oh so mean sometimes. But don't worry. I think that was the last time it picks on Zim in this story. XD Though it doesn't mean he's completely safe from our torment. XD Because Zim IS very unlucky in this story. He and Dib alike. But NGD and I only torment them because we love them. X3 And you're welcome. Thank you for enjoying our questionable tasteful torment of the boys in this story. XD We look forward to hearing back from you sometime soon. So until next time~


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Well, fuck. I wrote an author's note last night explaining why this chapter is so late, but I guess I forgot to save it. Eh...screw rewriting the entire thing again. Basically, the gist of my author's note was that it's late because I needed to finish angel-winged-wolfess's prize for catching our 100th review before moving on to offer PhantomPhoenix4 a prize for catching our 200th review. That and I've been sick. But anyways, congratulations, PhantomPhoenix4. I shall get to work on your prize as soon as physically possible. And to angel-winged-wolfess, your prize is finished. I sent you a personal message last night, and I'll post a link in my profile here as well. To the rest of you, much love for faving and adding this story to your story alert lists. Remember that feedback be much appreciated. So let us get started already. Chapter 30 of ZADR Orange. This chapter be dedicated to PhantomPhoenix4. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Gaz/Tak: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Not responding to Gaz's suggestion of getting some sleep, Dib just turned to wander the hallways of their school alone, just needing that time to think.

Sighing to herself, Gaz merely rolled her eyes. "Whatever...Wear yourself out then." she said before turning onto her side in the chair to get comfortable.

Ignoring her last comment, Dib exited the library and made his way to the gymnasium, the cold night air beginning to nip at his entire body but especially his hands, making them completely numb as he proceeded to take a seat on the bleachers where their school usually held assemblies.

The night was quiet and only the crickets seemed to be awake in the town.

After several hours of just sitting in the gymnasium thinking, Dib finally decided to return to the library where his sister was laying asleep in one of the chairs. Looking up at the clock in the room which read near midnight as he entered, he then quietly made his way to one of the chairs near his sister's and took a seat to curl up in it and fall asleep.

But just as he got settled, a loud roaring noise could be heard outside, breaking the silence.

Sitting up in his spot suddenly, having just been nodding off to sleep, Dib looked around, unsure whether he had just dreamed that noise or not.

That's when a loud crash followed by a few shock waves knocked all hints of doubt out of his mind.

So reaching over to shake Gaz, Dib attempted to wake her up. "Gaz...Gaz!" he said in a somewhat panicked whisper. "Did you hear that?" he asked, his voice shaking as he wanted to make sure he wasn't the only one who had heard it.

Grumbling in her sleep, Gaz merely turned over to face away from him. "Go away, Dib. I'm trying to sleep." she said, pushing his hand away.

Pulling his hand back and looking out one of the windows in the library, Dib sighed before standing up to quickly go check it out, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep until he did.

Meanwhile, outside the school, a certain purple-eyed Irken carefully crawled out of her ship, careful to avoid any hot metal. "Ahh...It seems almost 'nice' to be back on this dirtball." she said to herself with a smirk before stretching and climbing out of the crater her ship had made.

Opening one of the doors to the school near where he had heard the crash, making sure it remained open so he wouldn't get locked out of the school if it closed on him, Dib had a look about the place. "A-A cat...I-It must have just been a cat or something that knocked over a garbage can..." he tried to convince himself that that was all it was and nothing more. Remaining there about a minute longer, looking about the place, he then made his way back inside, not realizing how close her ship had crashed to his location.

Pulling herself out of the hole, Tak glanced up at the building she had landed in front of. "Hmm...The school? I thought I was aimed more at Zim's house...Ah well...I guess this will be as good a place as any to spend the night. Besides, I'd rather take him out when I'm more refreshed." she said, stretching some more and yawning before heading into the school.

Returning to the library where his sister was still asleep, feeling rather uncomfortable still and having no idea somebody had followed him into the school, Dib nonetheless found himself a new seat by one of the library's windows and sat down to stare out it for a while, feeling rather worn out and drained of all energy for the time being. "I guess I could check it out in the morning...Yeah...That's what I'll do..." he said to himself before yawning and finally letting his eyes slip closed again to sleep.

Not noticing Dib as she made her way to the office in the school, Tak found her own big cushy chair to rest in for a few hours.

Thus the two parties slept for nearly three hours, neither of them realizing they weren't alone in the school.

It wasn't until around 3:00 in the morning that Dib awoke again from his sleep though this time with the sudden need to use the bathroom. Sitting up straight in his chair from where he had been slumped down into, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before looking around, the place completely dark now. Then, looking over at his sister, who had barely moved from her spot, he stood up to quietly sneak out of the room and down the hall towards the bathrooms on campus, unable to believe that his bladder could possibly be so full after two days of not drinking anything at all.

Meanwhile, back in the office, Tak rolled over in the chair she was sleeping in and fell to the floor with a startled yelp. "AHH!" she jolted to her feet and glared at the chair before vaporizing it. Completely awake now, she then sighed to herself. "I might as well have a walk around for old times sake." she said to herself before leaving the room to wander the hallways.

Having a hard time making out anything at all at this point, Dib bounced a bit as he blindly searched the dark hallway for the bathroom doors. "Ugh...I wish we had thought to bring a flashlight or something first..." he mumbled to himself as he came across the cross section of the hallways again and cursed. "Dammit! I must have passed it already." he said before turning back around to search a little closer for it.

Little did he or Tak realize that her own walks lead her towards the bathrooms as well, causing her to shudder.

Without even noticing Tak in the darkness, Dib finally managed to locate the door to the boy's bathroom and didn't hesitate to head on in, relieved to have finally found it and even more relieved that it wasn't locked up for the night.

Noticing the bit of movement out of the side of her eye, Tak tensed, guarding herself.

Dib, however, couldn't help but sigh out in some relief as he quickly used the bathroom and flushed the toilet about a minute later, heading over towards the sinks to wash his hands.

Still standing defensively in the hallway, Tak glared at the door. "COME OUT, YOU! I KNOW I SAW SOMEONE GO IN THERE!" she demanded, waiting for whoever it was to exit.

Jumping just as he was about to reach for the door to head on out, not recognizing the voice at first and thinking it may be one of the janitors that came to clean the school when nobody was there or a teacher or something, Dib held up his hands to show he wasn't doing anything wrong and squeezed his eyes shut as he exited the bathroom, not wanting to get in trouble. "We're sorry! We just didn't have anywhere else to stay for the night! Please don't call the police on us or something!" he pleaded with whoever it was not to turn them in.

Deadpanning at the site of Dib exiting the bathroom, Tak just about dropped her weapon. "D-Dib?" she stuttered out. It couldn't be! He looked Irken, at least in this light, but...

Peeking one eye open at hearing his name and then the other, both of Dib's eyes grew wide at the sight of Tak standing right there in front of him. Then, with a startled noise escaping him, he jumped back a bit, his bare back pressing against the wall behind him as he slid down to the ground below. "T-Tak? Wh-What are you doing here? Why have you returned to Earth?" he demanded, knowing it couldn't be a good sign if she was here.

"I was sent to kill Zim...Why are you Irken?" Tak said the first part nonchalantly before returning the focus of this conversation on why Dib looked Irken now.

Eyes growing wide and antennae perking up suddenly at Tak's words, Dib was unable to get past her first sentence to answer her question. "Wh-What...?" he stuttered out, his face having grown very pale now, not that anybody would be able to tell in the darkness. "Sent? By who?" he wanted answers.

Glaring at Dib, Tak took a step towards him. "I'll tell you if you tell me. WHY are you Irken?" she asked again, growing annoyed with his lack of a response to her first question.

Starting to back away from her on the ground, Dib merely shook his head however. "I'm not! You're just seeing things!" he tried to make her think that she was mistaken and that the lack of light was just playing tricks on her eyes as he quickly made an attempt to get back up onto his feet so he could make a run for the library and warn his sister that Tak was back.

But Tak stopped him with one of her PAK legs. "Then what is this?" she asked, grabbing at his antennas.

Letting out a pained yelp at the rough treatment, Dib reached up to where his antennae were. "Ow! Let go!" he tried to push her hand away as he felt tears springing to his eyes, the resulting headache he had been sporting all day suddenly growing 10 times worse. Praying that she didn't decide to just rip out the thin appendages one at a time, he struggled to pull away from her.

Glaring at him for all his struggling, Tak let go of the antennas and rather grabbed him to slam against the wall. "Lucky for you, an honorable Irken never tears at another's antennae. Now TALK! Before I decide to become...dishonorable." she seemed to purr out threateningly as she slid one hand back up to the delicate appendages.

Letting out another pained sound at being slammed against the wall, Dib's antennae lowered in submission as he whimpered out helplessly, not wanting to tell her that Zim had done it for him. Still refusing to tell her anything about it, he then gulped before merely shaking his head. "It's none of your business..." he said before wincing back, expecting the worse.

"Tsk, tsk...Then it will be none of your business why I'm after Zim." Tak said with a smirk.

Knowing he needed to get to Zim before she did, Dib could only struggle more at her response. "You leave him alone, you bitch!" he screamed at her, suddenly angry as he twisted this way and that in an attempt to slip out of her grip.

"Feisty, aren't you? What's the matter? I thought you hated Zim." Tak smiled cruelly at him, knowing he was hiding something from her.

Dib could only glare daggers at her in response though. "If you thought that, then why did you come? Why not just let me take care of him myself?" he tried to put on his best act, wanting her to think that he was still out to get Zim so she would leave him alone.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 Yeah...No Zimmeh in this chapter. But you guys all get Tak! 83 So all the Tak fans can squeam with joy now. X3 For the record, I AM on break now and may consider posting more than one chapter a week during that time. But that's all dependent on how good you guys are. So play nice in your reviews. ^.^ With that said, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed. =3

To Watermelondrea: Lol. XD You really think those would be enough to take out Gaz? She's indestructable. She cannot be killed off by anything of this world. XD And don't worry. Zim and Dib are sure to work it out eventually. =3 Gaz won't interfere anymore.

To Casykirby: Don't let Gaz get to you too much. Like we've said many times before, Gaz is a GOOD character in this story. And she's not trying to protect herself. She DOES think Dib's being with Zim is a threat to his health. And in a lot of ways, it is. But you'll see what I mean by that later in the story. =3

To maliceofhumansacrifice: Lol. XD Gir is very sweet. And loyalty does seem to be his best trait. If only everybody could have their own little Gir. (Sighs dreamily) But anyways, he is very cute. And I like to draw him too on occasion. =3 Such a cute little robot dog. ^.^

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: He just can't seem to win in this story, can he? DX

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD Good. I'm glad it's coming back to you now. And don't worry too much about forgetting. NGD and I even forget about certain scenes and we're the ones writing it. XD But anyways. Gaz doesn't exactly trust Zim yet. So that's why she's pulling them apart. But that was her last time really interfering. After this, she for the most part just minds her own business. =3 As for your question, I honestly wouldn't know. I've read a lot of IZ fanfictions but stopped a few years back. I don't remember many of the ones I've read and I don't really read them anymore nowadays. I mainly just write for the fandom now. I don't have too much time for reading. Because if I'm interupted while writing (and that happens a LOT), I know I'll actually eventually return to it. But if I'm interupted in the middle of reading, I usually won't return to it because I get caught up in other things. But anyways. Bleh...I don't even know what schedule I'm on any longer when it comes to updating this story. I kind of scatter-brained now that I'm on break. Hell, I missed an entire week even. So I think I'll just update when I feel like it during this break. When school starts up again though, I'll create another for keeping up with our not so consistent updates though. We really appreciate it. =3 And I will. ^^

To heartofstone15: Well, he should. Red's probably the worst character in this story. He does so many horrible things to both Zim and Dib later on in the story, not to mention poor Purple. But you'll see what I mean by that later on. As for Gaz, she doesn't trust Zim fully. But she'll get over it. Tak appears in this chapter so we hope you enjoy. =3

To Alice in Muderland: Well, hello there. 8D So nice of you to join us. Thank you so much for the kind review. We're really glad you're enjoying the story so much. ^^ It is a sad story though, which we warn people about. But fear not! We're working towards a happy ending. =3 Zim and Dib shan't be apart for much longer. Gir is kind of the glue in this story. He holds things together whenever Zim and Dib are apart. =3 And I've always enjoying toying around with the relationship between Gir and Zim. It's such a cute one. ^3^ Even if Zim won't admit it, we all know he cares about that insane little robot. =3 I wouldn't say he's exactly smart enough to get Zim and Dib back together though. But don't worry. They'll work it out on their own soon enough. =3 Thank YOU for the wonderful review. We really appreciate it. So until next time~

To Sapcoat: Lol. XD No worries. Just so long as I know it's you, it's all good. X3 School drains me even when I'm on break. But I try not to let FF get too in the way. Anyways, yesh! Zimmeh always has Gir at least. =3 So all is still right with the world. Baaa~

To Vithian: Yes. Yes, she does. (Sigh) But I'm glad this isn't another Gaz hate mail comment. =3 Thank you for that. And I wouldn't know about actually having cousins my own age. Only have two. The oldest one is probably in her 40s now and has two kids of her own (They're kind of spoiled like my cousin is) and my other cousin is at least 13 years older than me. She just got married and doesn't have any children yet. But I actually like her. She's such a sweet heart. Unfortunately, both live far away...err...well, actually, unfortunately the NICE ONE lives far away. The other one I don't mind being so far away. But anyways, our Christmas is just a get together for brunch. My family comes over to our house and we play a game to decide who gets what presents. We don't have snow though. It gets really cold here, but we're too close to the ocean to get any snow, at least, to get any snow that actually reaches the ground. It always melts before making it to the ground. The last time we truly had a real snow was over 20 years ago. But I always hope we may get some each year. If we don't then my friends and I drive up to a place 5 hours from us that has snow almost year round. Well, it IS important to keep those instruments clean. I played the flute and had to keep mine clean if I didn't want it to break down. I watched the shows for Sonic growing up and I still watch Pokemon every chance I get. XD But it's the games and comics that really got me into the fandom. =3 This conversation actually got me playing the game again though. XD I'm in the process of making Christmas chao for my friends to adopt. Was considering offering some here as well. But I never restart my chao gardens. I've been raising chao since I was 12. I couldn't just give them up. So my solution is always to just buy a new memory card. XD And I have a TON of them. My dog chewed through the cord for my Gamecube though, so I'm using my Wii to play the game now. =3 It's working pretty well despite how long I've owned the game. And I'm really having fun with it. =3 Anyways, don't worry too much. Life is somewhat slowing down again. This last week was hectic, but I don't think I'll be doing much in the days to come. My friend who moved to England is visiting and her younger brother gave me and all my friends a cold he had coming over. So now we're all quarantined together until we're better. Because he just recovered and we don't want him getting sick again. My friends have been coming over to my house to steal my blankets and sleep on my couch. And I think I'm reaching the worst part of my cold right now. My throat is swollen and I can't swallow for the life of me. But oh well. That just means I don't really have to go out anywhere for a few days. And I think you were the first person to notice we were nearing our 200th review, which we reached a few hours after you said anything about it. XD So thanks for reading and helping us reach it. =3

To PhantomPoenix4: Before I welcome you to our little group of reviewers, let me be the first to congratulate you on catching our 200th review. =3 I've already got something in mind for your prize and will get to work on it as soon as I'm feeling well enough to do so. =3 We're so glad you're enjoying our story so much and hope you'll continue to read and review here, even though you are reading it on DA. ^^; So please keep your eyes open for updates here as well. DA doesn't host the entire story for a reason. With that said, I bid you a fond farewell until next time~


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Ah, yes. It be one of my favorite times of the year. New Years Day. I just love that fresh start feeling I always get with this time of the year. So, to celebrate, I'll be getting my butt back in gear this year and updating on a more manageable schedule. So for those of you who were bummed about how scatterbrained I've been these past few weeks, you can all look forward to those weekly updates again. =3 Updates will officially be set to take place every Saturday from now on. As always, I must thank those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And I feel the need to extend an extra thanks to those of you who actually reviewed the last chapter. So thank you, you guys. Now, without further ado, let me get this new chapter posted. Chapter 31. The first ZADR Orange chapter of the year 2011. =3 Feedback be much appreciated, so we hope to hear from you guys later this week. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Tak: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Gaz/Gir: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Tak could only smirk at Dib's words. "As much as I'd love to watch the two of you dance around like idiots, I've been recruited by a very high source to complete this task." she informed him, smiling at him teasingly.

"And what source would that be?" Dib tried yet again to get the information out of Tak.

Smirking even more at his attempt, Tak merely shook her head. "That's for me to know, and you, never to find out. Unless you tell me why you're Irken." she turned the tables on him again.

Cursing to himself in his mind, Dib just continued to glare at Tak. "I'm not telling you anything..." his voice came out in a quiet whisper, laced with hate.

"Then you'll never know, will you?" Tak leaned in close to him.

Struggling against her some more when she closed in on him, Dib tried to push her away with one of his legs. "Just let me go already!" he demanded, wanting to get to Zim before she did.

Pulling away from him at all his struggling, Tak merely tossed him down the hall onto the floor. "Fine. I have work to attend to anyways." she said, no longer caring what Dib did so long as he stayed out of her way.

Landing flat on his stomach, temporarily knocking the wind out of him, Dib curled in on himself in pain for a moment before slowly attempting to sit himself up enough in his spot to recover so he could go warn Gaz about what had just happened.

Cackling to herself as she turned to leave, Tak strolled back down the hallway, not wanting to stay there now that she knew Dib was there.

Waiting until Tak was gone, Dib pushed himself to his feet and made a mad dash down the hallway towards the library. "Gaz! Gaz!" he called out as he threw open the doors in a panic and ran to her side, giving her a rough shake, knowing he didn't have much time.

"Nnnn." Gaz growled at him, rolling over. "What do you want, Dib?" she asked in an agitated voice.

"Gaz! I need some change for a payphone! Please! This is a matter of life or death! I promise to explain to you later if you just give me some change!" Dib continued to shake her frantically.

Growing more and more annoyed with Dib's shaking, Gaz mumbled before finally flinging some change into his face. "There! Now go away." she ordered, turning over in the chair so her back was to him.

Scrambling to gather all the coins into his hands, Dib bolted back out of the room and down the hallway to where he knew the school had some payphones. Then, coming to a screeching halt at one of them, he deposited the change into it and dialed Zim's number, something he hadn't realized the Irken had until only a few years back. He had acquired the number from Gir on one of his spying missions and taken it to memory.

Hearing the phone ring on the other end, Dib fidgeted nervously in his spot as he waited for somebody to pick up. "Come on...Come on! Pick up!" he practically yelled into the receiver. That's when he finally heard somebody picking up on the other line.

On the other end, Gir sat upon the couch, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he held the phone to his 'ear'. "Helloooo?" he sounded out.

"Gir!" Dib exclaimed, happy that at least SOMEBODY had answered it.

Gasping happily at Dib's voice coming through on the other end, Gir seemed to perk back up instantly. "Big-Head Boy! I missed joo!" he said in an all too happy voice.

"Gir! I need to talk to Zim! Give him the phone! And hurry!" Dib didn't have time for pleasantries at the moment.

Looking over at Zim, who was still fast asleep, Gir wasn't sure whether he should wake the other up or not. "Master is sad...He's takin' a nappy...Mary hurt master..." he responded back, his eyes watering up a bit.

"Please, Gir! I need you to wake him up and put him on the other end! Please! This is important!" Dib begged with the other to put Zim on.

"You're not going to hurt master again, are you?" the little android just wanted to make sure before he did anything.

"No, Gir! Please! He's going to get hurt or worse if you don't put him on right now!" Dib exclaimed a second time, desperately.

Turning to look back at Zim again, Gir finally shrugged before screaming at Zim to wake up. "MASTAH! MARY'S ON DA PHONE!" he held out the phone to the sleeping Irken.

Waking up only a tiny bit, Zim merely yawned in response. "I-I don't want to talk, Gir..." he said in an obviously still upset voice before turning over onto his side.

Turning his attention back to the phone, Gir then yelled back into it. "HE SEZ HE DON' WANNA TALK!" he returned Zim's response.

"GIR! MAKE HIM! HE HAS TO TALK TO ME! IF HE DOESN'T, HE COULD DIE!" Dib screamed back, panicking now.

Turning back to Zim, Gir relayed the message to him. "HE SAYS YOU'RE GONNA DIE!" he said, having only caught a few of Dib's words.

Balling up in his spot at those words, Zim hugged his knees to his chest. "Tell him that if he wants to threaten me, he's going to have to do it to my face..." he said, on the verge of tears again.

"HE SAY YOU GOTTA THREAT HIS FACE!" Gir once again scrambled the message.

"GIR! I didn't threaten him! Tell him that Tak is back on Earth and on her way over to kill him now if doesn't get the hell out of there!" Dib tried to set things straight.

"Gir, just hang up." Zim ordered him, able to hear Dib's screaming over the phone but not wanting to listen to what he was trying to tell him.

"OKAY! BYE BYE, MARY!" Gir obeyed Zim, hanging up the phone before Dib could say another word.

"No, don't-!" Dib tried to stop him but couldn't. Dropping the phone once he realized Gir had hung up on him, he took a few unsteady steps backwards. "H-He...He didn't believe me..." he said, staring down at the floor wide-eyed before bringing his gaze back up to look out one of the windows. "E-Even if I do run there, she'll definitely beat me there...B-But if I don't at least try, he'll...he'll..." he couldn't finish, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. "No! Don't think that way! If he can hold on until I get there, I may have a chance to save him!" he told himself before turning towards the front doors of the school to bolt out of them, not even caring if he got locked out.

Meanwhile, back in the library, Gaz had gotten tired of trying to return back to sleep and decided to head on over to the computer lab to see if there were any good games on the teacher's computer. Little did she know that Tak was already in there. "What are you doing here?" she asked upon entering, not really caring however.

"Hmmm?" Tak looked up from her game to glance over at Gaz before returning her attention to the screen, knowing the other really didn't care. "I got bored...So I came to play some games..." she shrugged.

Taking a seat next to her, Gaz turned her own attention to the computer screen. "So I take it YOU'RE the reason my brother came running to me for extra change, proclaiming it was 'a life or death situation'?" she said, making little quotey fingers as she said the last part.

Never taking her eyes off the screen, Tak merely nodded her head. "Yep." she knew Dib was bound to have some reaction to her being there.

"Makes sense...So tell me, what exactly are you doing here anyways?" Gaz asked, slumping down in her seat a bit to get more comfortable.

Sighing, Tak decided she really didn't care whether Gaz knew why she was there or not. "Apparently Tallest Red can't let go of his grudge towards Zim, so he sent me here to kill him." she yawned. "But it's not like I'm in a big hurry or anything...He's dangerous enough to himself anyways." she said, leaning back herself.

"Heh...Yeah. He's already nearly killed himself three different times in the past two days because of my brother. And the funny thing is, they're not even out to kill each other any longer. Only thing I'm certain of is that Zim's out to get into my brother's pants...Of course, they DID just have a huge argument a few hours ago..." Gaz said, as though it were just common knowledge.

Sighing again, Tak merely shook her head. "Males..." she glanced over at Gaz. "This is why I swore off them. Nothing but trouble." she said, already well aware of all this.

"Heh...Same here. Besides, my brother's enough trouble as it is." Gaz smirked over at her.

Chuckling amused to herself, Tak tilted her head back to rest against the back of her chair. "I'm glad I never had to put up with a brother. Though I feel sorry for you...How did he become Irken anyways?" she asked, figuring Gaz must know.

Gaz just shrugged. "Eh, I don't know. I walked in on Zim playing around with his DNA. I'm pretty sure that had something to do with it." she said, crossing her arms over her chest as she continued to watch Tak.

"Ahhh...Yes. I know that procedure...I thought it was illegal though." she said before glancing over at Gaz, eyes half lidded. "But then again, what does an outcast like Zim know about the law?" she said mockingly.

Smirking back at her, Gaz nodded her head in agreement. "Nothing, I'm sure. And if Earth actually knew that aliens existed, it'd probably be illegal here too." she said matter of factly.

Nodding back at her and smirking also, Tak couldn't help but let out a satisfied cackle when she finished the level she was on. "So." she looked over at Gaz. "You wanna play?" she asked, pointing her thumb at the computer.

Pulling her chair up closer to the computer, Gaz grinned wide. "I thought you'd never ask." she said, taking the controls.

A grin of her own spreading across her face, Tak watched in interest now. "Well, let's see if you can beat my high score." she challenged.

Gladly taking on the challenge, Gaz set to work on catching up with the other.

Meanwhile, back across town, Dib barged through the front door to Zim's base with the neighbor's hose in hand. "Hang on, Zim! I'm here to rescue you! Where is she?" he turned this way and that, his eyes wild with panic as it took him a moment to realize that the Irken was still on the couch where he had left him, and Tak was nowhere to be found.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 Heh...I REALLY like this chapter. XD So I hope you guys enjoy it just as much as I do. With that said, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed. =3

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: We're glad to hear it. =3

To Meta-Knight-1-fan: Can't have a good ZADR story without Tak in there somewhere. But don't worry. Zimmeh will be joining the story again very soon. =3

To Vithian: We haven't received a lot of Gaz hate mail here on FANFICTION, at least. On other sites, however, we have. And a few we got this last chapter seemed to be bordering on it just a bit, but I let it slide. I only see my cousins when somebody's getting married or when somebody in the family dies. Otherwise, we don't see them at all. Though, I'll admit, we've had a lot of deaths in the family the past few years. So I've seen them at least a few times lately. And I think they joined us last Christmas as well. Can't really remember. But Christmas is ALWAYS celebrated on my mom's side. My dad's side of the family is pretty screwed up, so we see them even less than my mom's. And beside, most of his side is dead already. Either way, I spend my time hidden somewhere in my room. I'm one of the most anti-social people I know, something I get from my mom because she's really anti-social too. Honestly, it surprises me each day that her and my dad get along so well. He's super social, in a really annoying way too. But everybody seems to love him. We can't go ANYWHERE without SOMEBODY knowing him. Even when I'm not with him, I run into people who say they know him. It's kind of creepy. But anyways. Yeah. No snow for us either. I wish we would get snow, but we only get cold weather with nothing to show for it. But don't worry. I'll bet you'll get to see snow someday. =3 I don't play my instruments as often as I used to nowadays. But that's basically because they broke when I didn't clean them. XD But oh well. I don't take lessons any longer either so I guess it doesn't really matter. I've fallen behind a bit on watching Pokemon nowadays, so I'm not sure HOW far behind I am compared to newer episodes. But I still find reasons to enjoy the show. And my friends and I always enjoy sitting down to watch one of the many Pokemon movies because we're weird like that. It's really nostalgic for us though. I think that's why. Sonic I have to buy the tapes for nowadays though. Unfortunately, we don't get the really old episodes. I used to record them, but I lost the tapes. Personally, I always really loved Robotnik. He's such an awesome character, even if he does lose to a bunch of woodland animals all the time. XD And I never could understand why they would change his name to Eggman. It's just such a random name. But my brother and I have fun making fun of it. XD We even wrote a song about it at one point long ago. I'm play SA2B at the moment, taking care of those chao I was talking about. If you'd like to adopt a chao, go ahead and PM me. 8D I can send you pictures. I have one at the moment who needs a good home and name. ^.^ And I think I will offer some next chapter. =3 I can understand your pain though. D8 Nowhere really sells memory cards here either anymore. I think they have to be ordered online nowadays. And I like raising as many different kinds of chao as possible also, so I wish there weren't a limit in the chao gardens. I try to space them out fairly evenly though. =3 I also still have all except for a few of my original chao. My brother and I raised a lot. And I always love visiting them in the game. Such fond memories I have of taking care of them. It really saddened me when one of the first two originals died though. D8 His name was Dr. Evil and he was such an awesome chao. But we still have our other ones so I guess it's all good. Just wish my Gamecube had lasted as long. But so long as I can play on the Wii, I guess it's fine. I have really bad luck with technology. I've gone through two different laptops in only a few years. The first one, somebody knocked onto the floor and shattered the screen. I was blamed for it, of course. -_-; And the one I'm using now is the same kind but such a piece of crap. It's totally fucked up and I worry each day about how much longer it will actually last me. Because about every 6 months or so, I get this really deadly virus that kills my computer and makes my brother and I have to restart the whole thing. The sad part is, it erases ALL my files. So I have to keep everything on a flash drive just in case. Also, it spazzes out no matter what I do. So I really need to buy a new one really soon before it crashes beyond repair. The unfortunate thing is, I don't even know where the fuck this virus keeps coming from. It's like I'm cursed or something. Speaking of curses, no I doubt colds can be transferred over the internet. XD Though it would suck if they could be. I have a really bad one right now that just keeps getting worse. I went from having a swollen throat to having a fever, headache, nausea, body pains, cough, sneezing, inability to fall asleep, chills, and inability to taste ANYTHING all overnight. So yeah. I'm cursed. And all this on my birthday too. DX But oh well. At least you've recovered from your fever and infection. =3 Just be sure to stay away from your brothers while they're sick. Because this is NOT a cold you'd want to catch. The only upside is that I have a reason to hide in my room Christmas day and nobody can make me come out of it for any reason unless they want to risk getting sick. Awwwz...It sucks coming that close and missing it just because your computer was being an ass. DX But perhaps you'll catch it next time. I'm glad you enjoy reading and reviewing though. =3 So thanks so much for doing so. (Hug) P.S. Don't even worry about it. XD Even if it does seems a bit ranty to you, mine is a full blown rant in comparison. XD So sorry about that. I think rants are contagious. At least, mine are. XD

To heartofstone15: Well, Gaz doesn't really have much more contact with Dib in this story for a while now. They'll be parting ways very soon. As for Zim...Eheheh...Oh, really? You think so? X3 Well, all I can say is you'll see soon enough how things unfold. But we're glad you enjoyed the chapter. =3 So thanks for reading. =3


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm a day late. But I got dragged out of my bed at an ungodly hour of the morning yesterday and wasn't returned home until late in the night. So I'm sorry for the lateness, you guys. But honestly, you people aren't doing a very good job of keeping me motivated to continue posting here any longer. -_-; What the hell happened, you guys? Practically none of you are even reviewing any longer. And half of those not reviewing were every week reviewers. Did I say something offensive? Not that I like to force people to review or anything, but I just find it weird that we're getting tons of reviews for a long time and then all of a sudden, practically none at all. Did this story grow boring or something? It just makes it seem like that to me and I become much less motivated to continue posting each week. (Sigh) But oh well. For the ones who are continuing to read, here is Chapter 32 of ZADR Orange. =3 I hope you guys enjoy. And I send much love to those who fave and add to the story to your story alert lists still. =3 Feedback is much appreciated, so we hope to hear back from more of you guys this week.=3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Zim hardly responded to Dib's barging in as he remained laying on the couch with his back to the door. Merely balling up in his spot even more, he rather squeezed his eyes tightly shut, as though expecting the other to start throwing threats at him now rather than over the phone. "Wh-What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice scratchy from how long he had cried.

Still in a panic, Dib merely continued to look around the room with wide, unblinking eyes. "I-Is this some kind of trick? She said she was coming to kill you! She told me! I...I..." his words trailed off as his eyes continued to dart from one end of the room to the other.

Finally sitting up a little, Zim turned slightly to look back at the other, the blanket slipping down to his waist. "What are you talking about?" he now looked at the hybrid as though the other were insane.

"Tak! I saw her! I ran into her! And she said she got orders to kill you!" Dib blurted out quickly as he circled the room with the hose, half expecting her to just jump out at him.

Sitting up completely now, Zim couldn't help but shake his head in some confusion. "Why would Tak come back here?" he questioned the other, not quite believing any of what he was saying.

"I already told you! She was ordered to come here! And kill you! I tried to get her to tell me who ordered her to come here, but she refused! She said she wouldn't tell me unless I told her how I had become part Irken!" Dib repeated, never once letting his guard down.

"...Are you sure you didn't dream this?" Zim then asked, almost quietly.

"Yes, I'm sure! Do you honestly not believe me?" Dib snapped back at him, for the first time looking at Zim incredulously.

"Well..." Zim began, looking hurt. "It just...sounds far fetched is all...And...You did leave me..." he dropped his gaze away to the ground sadly.

Deadpanning at the others words, Dib just continued to stare at the Irken with wide eyes, his mouth hanging slightly open. "I can't believe this...You really don't believe me...You STILL won't believe me...Well, let me ask you this, Zim? Why would I lie to you about something like this? What could I possibly have to gain back by lying to you about something like this?" he practically screamed back at the alien, now glaring at him.

Looking away from Dib's glare, Zim's antennae could only droop. "I don't know..." his voice came out sounding defeated as he sniffled a little. "M-Maybe you thought you had to lie to come back here..." he whispered quietly to the other in a hopeful voice, thinking that maybe Dib had missed him.

The Irken lifting his eyes up to stare at him, Dib couldn't help but notice the others facial expression, causing his own expression to soften. "Oh...I wasn't aware I was allowed back here...But I'm not lying, Zim...I came back because...Because I was worried about you..." he said before looking away himself.

Lifting his head more to stare up at Dib hopefully, Zim's eyes seemed to light up at the boy's words. "Really?" he asked, blushing as he held out his arms slightly, wanting to hug and cuddle Dib but unsure whether the other would allow him to or not.

Staring at the outstretched arms for a moment, Dib nervously shifted about in his spot a bit and played with his fingers before finally inching just a bit closer to the other and taking a seat on the couch next to him so he could lean into his hug, blushing a bit himself.

Taking care to wrap his arms around Dib gently, Zim then hugged him surprisingly tightly considering his still healing injuries. Nuzzling into Dib, he then found himself crying a little again as he tried to hide it by burying his head into Dib's chest. But he couldn't stop himself from shaking as he broke down even more.

Not wanting to hurt the other since he could still tell he was in pain from his earlier injuries, Dib hesitated to bring up his own arms and wrap them around Zim. Then, sighing against the other, he slowly let his hands travel up the alien's back to hold closely, closing his eyes and brushing his lips against the top of Zim's head, right between his antennas. "I'm sorry I left you..." he whispered softly into one of Zim's antennas.

Still heaving against the other, Zim took in a shaky breath. "Wh-Why...? I-I wanted you to stay..." he said in a broken voice, wanting to know why Dib had left him.

Hearing those words, Dib could only feel even worse now. "I...I just needed to get away from it all for a little while...I-I never meant to hurt you so badly..." he tried to explain his actions to the Irken, not wanting the other to hold it against him for the rest of his life.

Sniffling even more, Zim nuzzled himself more into Dib's chest. "I-I'm sorry..." he apologized himself, knowing Dib had every right to leave after the way he had yelled at him.

"Why? You were right...You were completely right..." Dib said, referring to Zim's earlier words.

Pulling back slightly, Zim looked up at Dib. "But...I made you mad...I-I shouldn't have forced you to stay..." he dropped his gaze away, antennae drooping again.

"But everything you said was true! I don't like to admit it to myself, but it's true! She's dead...I'll never see her again... And nothing can change that..." Dib practically quoted Zim's earlier words.

Pulling Dib close, Zim held him even tighter. "But I had no right to say it." he suddenly felt horrible about what he had said.

Having by now broken down into his own tears again, Dib hid his face in Zim's chest. "But it's true! Everything you said was true! I had no right to get mad at you for it!" he said, his own antennae falling back now.

Unsure what to do now, Zim held Dib close and started rocking him back and forth a bit, sobbing lightly against him. "S-Stop, Dib... Please stop crying..." he begged the other, never sure what to do with the other when he got like this.

The tears coming in a flood now down his cheeks, Dib merely shook his head as he continued. "And now I feel like such an idiot for not having listened to you!" he seemed close to panicking.

Breathing heavily now, Zim looked at Dib worriedly. "Dib..." the others name slipped past his lips before he did the only thing he could think of to do in that moment. Leaning up closer to Dib, he smashed their lips together in a passionate kiss.

Eyes seeming to snap wide open at the action, Dib couldn't help but calm slightly as all he could do now was stare back at Zim in shock and blink the tears out of his eyes.

Pulling back to breath after a moment, Zim smiled up at him warmly. "Do not fret for Zim..." he said before leaning in to kiss him again. "Zim will always be here for you." he promised, caressing one of Dib's cheeks with his hand.

Continuing to just stare back at the other with wide eyes, Dib was surprisingly calm now despite the hysteria he had been in a few moments earlier.

Smiling softly at him, Zim pulled his hand away. "Are you tired, Dib?" he asked, knowing a bit of sleep would do them both some good after the day they had had.

Eyes falling half lidded, Dib merely slumped up against Zim a bit when he was suddenly hit with wave a nausea. "I feel dizzy..." his voice came out in a quiet whisper as he suddenly felt as though all the life had just been sucked out of him.

"Dib?" Zim's antennae perked in a bit of confusion as he looked worriedly at the hybrid before standing up to prop Dib up against the couch, pulling his legs onto it too so he was laying down now. "A-Are you okay? You need to rest! You weren't fully recovered from the procedure when you ran off earlier." he said, knowing Dib had been running on only adrenaline when he left.

Suddenly feeling highly sensitive to light, smells, and sounds now that everything seemed to be slowing down again for the first time in 24 hours, Dib struggled a bit against Zim. The light from the street lamp outside blinding him, the smell of Zim's blood still on him from earlier in the day making him feel nauseous again, and any small sound feeling like thunder was ripping through his antennae, he couldn't help but shudder as his antennae fell back to press against the back of his head.

"Dib?" Zim's voice grew even more panicky as he jumped up from his spot next to the boy to close the blinds to the windows to block out the light and ordered the computer to sanitize the area. "Dib?" he asked again as he rushed back to his side and nuzzled into the hybrid again, stroking his hair gently. "Just hold on. It will pass..." he instructed the other quietly, petting his head more as a comfort to himself than to Dib.

Squeezing his eyes tightly shut when everything around him began to blur, Dib rolled his head from one side to the other. "Zim...?" he murmured the Irken's name breathlessly.

"Shhh..." Zim tried to calm him by massaging around his antennas.

His antennas shuddering again, Dib tried to pull back a bit. "Ow... No more... Please... It hurts..." he whimpered out in a pained voice.

"Shhh..." Zim leaned down to kiss him gently. "Dib...Shhh... Don't talk." he instructed the other again, needing Dib to let him do this.

Letting out another small whimper, Dib pressed his face into the back of the couch.

A somewhat serious look on Zim's face now, the Irken slid his finger up Dib's antennae. "Just try to relax. Let it pass..." he kept telling the other.

Gasping sharply at the feel of Zim running his fingers along his antennas, Dib began struggling again to pull away. "Stop! Stop! It hurts!" he exclaimed, wanting Zim to take his hands away from them.

Shaking his head at Dib's reaction, Zim could only sigh. "Calm down, Dib. I'm trying to help, but you need to relax." he explained to the other, reaching out to touch them again.

Crying into his hands now, Dib only shook his head even more. "But it hurts so much!" he sobbed, his head throbbing where his antennas were located.

Kissing his cheek gently, Zim leaned down a bit to whisper into the sensitive appendages. "I know, Dib... I know... Just take a deep breath, and let it out slowly." he said, waiting for Dib to do that before he continued.

Nodding his head slowly, Dib tried to steady his breathing enough to do as Zim told him to.

Then, taking in a deep breath, Zim slowly and lightly slid his hand the rest of the way up Dib's antennae before letting go to do the same to the other one.

Sniffling wetly still, trying to keep himself from reaching up to push Zim's hands away from his antennas, Dib watched Zim work his hands up the lengths of them. "Wh-Wh-What are you doing?" he finally asked when Zim went to repeat it a second time.

"Making sure you're still functioning correctly." Zim responded, moving to Dib's eyes after a moment to pry one open and glance around inside before moving to the other one.

His breathing shaking even more, Dib sent Zim a truly scared look now. "F-Functioning correctly?" he repeated Zim's words, wanting to make sure he had heard right.

Never stopping his work, Zim nodded his head. "You've been running around and over exerting yourself...I need to make sure you didn't hurt yourself... This current state you're in is proof that you at least got close..." he said, tilting Dib's head one way and then the other to get a closer look at him.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 Aren't you all just so glad that the ZADRness of this story is once again back? XD I hope so. Now let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed. =3

To heartofstone15: I'm just as surprised as you are. D8 I want to assume people are just out of town or something, but considering how many reviews we normally get, it's hard for me to believe they're ALL just gone. So, I don't know. Maybe something I said or did scared away or offended the rest of our reviewers. I honestly have NO idea why only 4 of you guys reviewed that last chapter. I'm not one to force people to review or anything like that, but it makes me much less motivated to continue work on the story. (Sigh) But oh well. No, Zim won't be dealing with Tak anytime soon. And yesh! Teh TAGRness be coming soon. X3 You can count on that. Tak in this story is more of a distraction for Gaz than anything else. Though she does play some pretty important parts later on. =3 We're glad to hear you're still enjoying the story. And much thanks to you for taking the time to comment. (Hug) Anyways, I best be off for the time being. So until next time~

To Rain unloved: Meh...It's not like I was trying to hide my DA account from anyone or anything like that. It's actually rather easy to find. Like I've told people before though, I only recommend reading here because the story isn't rushed that way. -_-; It's a lot to take in and people have a tendency to forget certain parts that are important to the story's plot development. Not only that, but we appreciate the comments we get here that we otherwise don't get as much of on other websites. And I think it's the comments that we get here that keep us the most motivated when working on this story. Because then people actually let us know each chapter what they think of the story rather than rushing ahead and not letting us know. =3

To Kirikachan: Well, hello there, new reviewer. =3 Thank you for taking the time to join us. As you may have just noticed, this story is only updated weekly. XD So sorry for the wait. But it keeps my life simple updating that way. So you can expect a new chapter each Saturday now that you're caught up. =3 We're glad to hear you're enjoying the story. And we hope you'll continue to read and review as we update each week. Dib really is cute in this story. That's why I like role playing as him so much. But anyways, we shall most definitely continue to update and work hard on this story. So thanks for taking the time to read and review. =3

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: As always, we're glad to hear it. =3

To Meta-Knight-1-fan: TAKR? XD I'm going to assume you meant to say TAGR in that last review. If so, then yes. =3 There most certainly shall be quite a bit of TAGR in this story. XD If not, then no. There will not be any elements of TakXinsert character's name starting with K here. XD Lol. But anyways. Poor Dib. He should have known Gir would mix up to words to his message to Zim. XD And as you can see in this chapter, much has happened. =3 And considering the ZADRness is back, I wouldn't say Zim is too mad at Dib. He just missed him. ^.^ Thanks for taking the time to review. =3 And we hope to hear from you again soon. =3


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Alright. Before we get started, let me once again apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I had a bit of computer trouble this past week when the power cord to my laptop blew up and lit on fire. So I'm working on a different computer at the moment. As such, please excuse any formatting weirdness that may come about upon posting this chapter. I'm working on a slightly different text document than I'm used to. So just bare with me until I can get myself up and running on a new laptop. With that said, let me inform you all now that the long awaited Chapter 34 be approaching rather quickly. As such, please remember that that chapter will NOT be posted here on FF. It does not contain appropriate content for many of the readers on here and because of that, I have decided I will be posting it on FA instead. A link will be posted later in the week on my profile page here when I have the chapter posted there. Please continue to review here however as I'd rather not have to sort through 20 million comments over on FA. For those of you under the age of 18, I wouldn't recommend reading the chapter as it is not for the eyes of the young. If you do decide to read it however, be warned, we are not responsible for the mental or emotional scarring of any of you. You have been warned. Now that that is out of the way, let us move on to Chapter 33 of ZADR Orange. Much love and thanks to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And as always, feedback be much appreciated. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Giving Zim's words some thought, Dib shifted his gaze away for a moment before bringing it back to look up at Zim. "C-C-Could it have been wh-when Tak shoved me against the wall earlier? O-Or threw me onto the g-ground?" he asked, his voice shaking all the while.

Eyes growing wide at Dib's words, Zim looked up from what he was doing to stare at Dib. "Wh-Why didn't you tell me you were attacked?" he demanded, starting to feel up and down his arms and legs in search of broken bones.

"I didn't think to! She threatened to pull out my antennae earlier too!" Dib's voice shook even more as he broke down into Zim's chest.

An even more horrified look coming to the Irken's face, Zim couldn't believe Tak would try to do something like that to him. "I thought she was too proud to do that!" he didn't even want to think about how much more painful that would have been for Dib compared to the procedure he had performed on the other.

"Sh-She said she wouldn't do it if I told her how I had become Irken, b-but she just ended up letting me go anyways." Dib said, pulling away from Zim's chest to stare up at the other with tear-filled eyes.

Pulling Dib close, Zim nuzzled him affectionately. "Well...What matters is you're safe...Are you feeling any better?" he then asked, wanting to know whether Dib's earlier pain had subsided yet.

His body still shaking, Dib merely sobbed into Zim's chest when the other pulled him close. "Everything still hurts so much..." he cried, Zim's examinations having done little for him.

Holding Dib tightly, Zim brought up a hand to pet back his antennas yet again. "Want me to get you more anesthetic?" he offered, knowing it had at least helped Dib a little bit the last time he had given it to him.

"Anything...Anything..." Dib practically begged before Zim could even finish asking his question.

Nodding in response, Zim lifted his gaze to the ceiling. "Computer! Painkillers! NOW!" he ordered, wanting to get them into Dib as soon as possible.

"Whatever..." the computer dropped a syringe full of a strong painkiller on to Zim's lap.

Grabbing it once it had been delivered to him, Zim brought it up to where Dib's arm was. "Hold still, Dib." he instructed the other before sliding the needle into his arm and injecting it slowly.

Wincing back at the sharp pain in his arm, Dib squeezed his eyes shut tightly as he waited for Zim to finally take it out.

Sliding it out carefully after injecting it all into Dib, Zim nuzzled him gently. "Feeling better yet?" he asked, as though it would start working so quickly.

His breathing heavy now, Dib could only stare up at Zim through half lidded eyes as he saw everything around him beginning to blur again. "I-I think...I think I'm going to..." he began but found himself unable to finish his sentence as all he could do was close his eyes tiredly and pant out heavily for a while longer.

Catching him before he could fall, Zim nuzzled him, stroking his hair lightly. "Shhhhh...Don't strain yourself...Here." he picked him up carefully and carried him into the lift, headed towards the bedroom.

Feeling the other moving him from the couch, Dib attempted to re-open his eyes enough to peer up at Zim. "Wh-Where are you taking me?" he asked, having some difficulty making out anything.

Leaning down to kiss him, Zim waited for the elevator to come to a halt before exiting. "I'm taking you to the bedroom. You need to sleep." he told the other in a quiet whisper.

"Y-You're not leaving me though, are you?" Dib then asked, suddenly somewhat panicked.

"No, I'm never leaving you alone again." Zim reassured him, wanting Dib to relax.

Breathing finally beginning to slow somewhat, Dib returned his face to Zim's chest for a little extra comfort.

Smiling at this, Zim ruffled Dib's hair a bit as he headed on over to the bed. "Feeling better?" he asked yet again, wanting to know whether the medicine was working.

Clinging to the Irken's front, Dib sighed gently against the other at the small ruffle. "A little..." he admitted, the pain finally beginning to leave him little by little.

"Good." Zim nuzzled Dib. "I don't want you hurting..." he said as he reached the bed and laid Dib down gently on it.

Staring up at Zim from his spot on the bed, Dib held his arms out expectantly, just wanting Zim's closeness more than anything right now.

Smiling, Zim wasted no time at all in hopping onto the bed next to him so he could wrap his arms around him as well.

Not completely satisfied with Zim's closeness, Dib, without even thinking, instinctively curled himself around the Irken, wrapping arms and legs around him tightly to keep him from going anywhere.

A little surprised by Dib's actions, Zim could only stare at him confused. "Dib? It's okay. I'm not going anywhere..." he promised the other when he wouldn't loosen his hold on him.

But Dib didn't seem to catch that as he rolled his head to one side, almost as though he were drunk or something, the medicine really beginning to affect his senses. "D-Don't leave me...No matter what..." he mumbled before yawning tiredly.

Nuzzling him one last time, Zim seemed to just then realize for the first time since Dib had showed up that he was still naked from before. He blushed. "Uh...I should get dressed..." he said, trying to pull away for just a moment.

Of course, Dib could only tighten his hold on Zim, hiding his face in the others chest stubbornly. "No! Don't leave me!" he said firmly, not wanting Zim to leave him for anything at the moment.

Sighing, Zim merely shook his head at that command. "But I need to get something on..." he said, looking up at Dib guiltily before reaching up to stroke his antennas.

Letting out a small whine at Zim trying to pull away, Dib only clung to him tighter as his antennae fell back, not so much from pain than from a small bit of irritation. "Mmm..." he sounded out in what sounded like a growl.

"Okay, okay..." Zim held his hands up defensively at the small growl, giving up and pulling Dib close. "N-Now what?" he asked, blushing from how close his bare body was to Dib's half naked body.

Loosening his grip on Zim once the other had stopped trying to pull away, Dib then shifted his eyes open to peer up at Zim with a dazed look on his face, as though he were no longer aware of what they were just talking about. "Hmmm?" he blinked his half lidded eyes a few times before returning his face to the Irken's chest tiredly.

Reaching one of his hands sneakily to Dib's antennas, Zim kept his gaze focused on Dib all the while. "Dib?" he asked as he stroked them gently. "Can you feel this?" he was curious as to whether Dib was coherent or not.

Tensing suddenly at the sensitive touch, Dib shuddered before burying himself deeper into Zim's chest, his free antennae twitching. Then, taking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly and shakily, bordering on a purr.

Eyes widening a bit at Dib's reaction, Zim felt a smile spread across his face at that. "Do you like that?" he then asked, wanting to make sure.

Tilting his head to one side more as though to encourage more touch, Dib merely responded with a small humming sound. "Mmm...Don't stop..." he seemed to beg for more touch.

Grinning widely, Zim reached up both his hands now to stroke Dib's antennas some more. "Okay..." he agreed without arguing.

The pleasure overwhelming the sensible part of his brain and blocking out most of the pain he was still in, Dib gasped sharply.

Grinning even wider, Zim pulled back enough to swing his leg over Dib, straddling him. "Honestly enough, this will help you a lot." he said before leaning forward to pull Dib's antennas into his mouth.

Eyes snapping wide open at the sensation, Dib's body reacted, causing him to arch his back slightly off the bed and let out another sharp gasp for air. "Ah!" he bit down on his bottom lip as he curled back in on himself, lowering his back down onto the bed again.

Thrilled by this, Zim happily slid his hands to Dib's pants.

Licking his lips in anticipation, Dib panted out heavily and peered up at Zim with two glazed over, honey-colored eyes. "Wh-What are you? Mmmmm..." he couldn't finish his sentence as he tilted his head back and let his eyelids slip back closed, his mind too scrambled at the moment to keep focused on his train of thought.

Not noticing Dib's short complaint, Zim merely slid his hands around the hem of Dib's pants and pulled them down.

Still panting, no longer concerned with asking Zim what or why he was doing this but just the feelings the other was making him feel in that moment, Dib lifted his head enough to stare down at his anatomy, just then seeming to notice the differences between what it looked like now and what it had looked like when he was still a human.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 Now don't complain about me cutting you all off there. I did that for a reason. XD Had I continued, I would have ended up cutting you all off in the middle of the sex scene. But even I'm not THAT evil. So just hang in there until I decide to post the link on my profile page. And check back regularly for it because I have no way of letting you all know when it's going to be coming out. Just shoot for Saturday as usual. Hopefully, I won't run into anymore complications before then. With that said, let me take this time to respond to those of you who reviewed. =3

To angel-winged-wolfess: Oh, yes. Poor Dibbles still needs time to adjust. But if you really think about it, in the story, it's only really been one day. One and a half at the most. Thankfully though, Zimmeh's body is beginning to feel better after the thrashing it took with that water. We're glad to hear you're still enjoying the story so much. And don't even worry about it. (Hug) I understand that there are some people out there who don't review too often. You're not really one of the people I was talking about in my author's note. There are just other people who were reviewing each chapter and suddenly dropped off the face of the Earth during our conversation. I was just wondering where they went all of a sudden and why so many at the same exact time. But you don't have to review each chapter if you don't want to. I don't like forcing people. But we really do appreciate you taking the time to review anyways. So thank you for the kind review. It's nice to know you're still enjoying the story. (Huggle)

To girsteehee: Well, hello there, new reviewer. =3 It's very nice of you to join us. We're very glad to hear you're loving our story so much. =3 And, yes. They did indeed make up. Wouldn't be much of a ZADR story if they hadn't. XD And of course, this story is just FULL of drama. But that's what keeps it interesting. 8D Anyways, as for your question, it wasn't so much that we were motivated to write this story. In all honesty, it was just a random RP Notgonnadie and I began. I didn't think at first that it would be a continuous RP nor did I think it would come out to be so long. But over a year later, here we are, still roleplaying this story. Eventually, some people got us to post it as a story after Notgonnadie made some fanart for it, so I just started rewriting our script RP in narrative and that's basically how this story came to be. I'm actually surprised it's become so popular, and we really do appreciate all our readers and reviewers. So thank you for taking the time to read and review. =3 And we shall most definitely continue to post up chapters. =3 I'd be disappointed in myself if we didn't finish this story, so I'm certainly not giving up. =3

To Watermelondrea: Lol. XD I'm glad somebody thinks so! This is why I love role playing as him. X3 He's such a cute character and I just love working with little hybrid Dibbeh. X3 And don't worry. We'll keep writing. =3

To heartofstone15: Well, it seems we got more reviews this week. Though the majority of them so far seem to be from new people, actually, which still leaves me to wonder what happened to all the other reviewers we had. But oh well. I guess we can't keep them all. XD I also find it nice when author's respond to their readers rather than blowing them off. That's why I always try to respond back to you guys. It's nice getting to know you all and receive some feedback on how you guys are liking the story. I don't think the number of page views is really a contributing factor to the drop in reviewers these past few weeks, because I usually notice an increase actually in readers each month. So I don't know. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens from here on out. And I agree. I really love this last chapter. It be full of ZADRy goodness. X3 (Sighs happily) Anyways. Thanks for continuing to read and review. I look forward to hearing back from you in a week or so.=3

To leyu2oO wait leviathan02 too: Hey, I remember you. XD How have you been? =3 It really has been too long since we last talked. Anyways, yeah. This story is a long one. So it's nice to hear from you again. =3 We're glad to hear you're enjoying it so much still and can only hope you'll continue to read. =3 Because trust me, this plot will only continue to grow more and more complicated as we continue. But we're glad you've enjoyed the plot so far. So thanks for reading and taking the time to review. Now that I'm getting back on track with things, I'll hopefully be able to get updates up more regularly. So look forward to that. =3 Until next time.

To I LOVE PICKLEZ: Lol. XD Well, it's been around for nearly a year now. We'll be approaching our 1 year anniversary for this story in February. Though honestly, we started actually writing it in September of 2009. And in May, it will be the 1 year anniversary for this story so far as it being posted here on fanfiction is concerned. But we're glad you came across it. =3 It's always nice to pick up new readers. And as such, let me be the first to welcome you. =3 We're very happy to hear you're enjoying our story so much, and we hope you'll continue to read and review as we update each week. =3 And it's quite flattering to hear you prefer our style of writing ZADR over some of the other styles out there. I'll admit I am a bit of a sappy writer, but only when a scene calls for it. ^^ As for my partner. Well, I think we just work well together. She's definitely the brains behind the operation. She helps keep this story interesting with complicated plot lines. Lol. XD So we're just always so glad to hear when you guys are enjoying them. =3 Thanks again for reviewing and we hope to hear from you again soon. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: (Hug) I'm not too worried about you leaving for too long. You always come back. But we DID miss hearing from you, so it's nice to see you're back. =3 I know you wouldn't abandon us. And I can understand how life can get in the way sometimes. I almost didn't get a chapter up this week because my laptop died. X_X so it's perfectly fine. =3 Yes, that last chapter did reintroduce the ZADR and in the next chapter after this one, we'll be getting into what you've all been waiting for. So look forward to that, even though I know you've probably read it already. XD And, yes, Zim and Dib are good again. Of course, the question always is, for how long? XD To be perfectly honest, I'm a little surprised by your question this week. I could have sworn you were following the conversations between Vithian and I, which actually do answer your question already. But, just so you don't have to go back and read, I'll answer it here too. =3 No, we do not have snow where we live. At least, I don't. I'm too close to the ocean. As for Notgonnadie, you may want to ask her yourself. Because I'm not sure. I don't recall her saying anything about snow so I wouldn't know. I wish I got snow though. It's been over 20 years since the last time it really snowed here. To put things simply, we get snow but it doesn't usually reach the ground. A lot of the time it just melts. But we DO technically have the weather for it. It's just a VERY rare occurance here. I can understand your annoyance with having snow, but I still advise people to just enjoy it while they can because who knows when the next time you'll see snow is. The only downside I can see about snow days is being forced to make up those days on other holidays throughout the year. But still. You should enjoy your time off from school. =3 Anyways, I'm sorry myself for taking so long to get this chapter up. I had a lot going on this past week. But I'll pick up the pace again soon. So just bare with me. =3 As always, much thanks to you for reviewing and we hope to hear from you again soon. =3

To Fire Rage7: You are quite welcome. =3 Thank YOU for the review. ^^

To Dadles: Hooo boy...what to say to you...This will be in response to all 4 of your reviews. But before you read this, please take the time to get your head out of your ass and clean the shit from your ears because I only want to have to say this once. And I will try to be as kind as I can, which is more than I can say about your own reviews. First of all, there is a WARNING at the beginning of EVERY chapter instructing people that this story is VERY out of character. They stutter for a reason. Can't handle it? Don't read our story. Second of all, each chapter is measured out before posting. We will not be adding more or less. This keep our work load on this story reasonable enough for both of us to handle. And it also guarantees updates on a reasonable schedule. So don't complain about the length of the chapters. As for the reviews we take the time to answer in our author's notes, it's not up to you how we answer our reviewers. For the record, many of our reviewers enjoy being addressed in this way rather than in personal messages. And on another note, not everybody who reviews has an account on here, so don't assume we can just contact all of our reviewers whenever we want. And before you tell us to just PM all our other readers, I'd suggest actually enabling your own damn PMs before assuming everybody else has theirs enabled. Also, watch your wording. Saying that we FORCE you to read our conversations is just uncalled for. We don't FORCE anybody to do anything. We don't even FORCE you people to read the story. If you don't want to read everything we write at the end of each chapter, then just skip the ending! It's not like we're sitting behind you holding your head in one place while you read. All you reviewers have to do is find your name, read what we have to say to you, then move on. Third of all, this story is an RP. My partner and I are going to write whatever the hell we want and you can't change that. We didn't ask for your opinion. If you can't handle the fighting in this story, then just don't read it. Once again, we're not forcing you to read anything. You obviously know little about writing. The fighting in this story creates tension, which is an important element in any story. Without it, the story becomes stagnant and boring. As Robert Morgan once said, "Almost all good stories are sad because it is the human struggle that engages us readers and listeners the most. To watch characters confront their hardships and uncertainties makes us feel better about our own conflicts and confusions and fears. We have a sense of community, of sympathy, a cleansing sympathy, as Aristotle said, and relief that we are safe in our room only reading the story. A story of sadness, even tragedy, makes us feel, paradoxically, better, as though we are confronting our own conflicts and fears, and have endured." If you tell us you want this story to be as boring as Zim and Dib falling in love with absolutely no conflict whatsoever, there honestly wouldn't be any point in the story even being written at all. That's like telling Shakespeare that you hate the ending to Romeo and Juliet and therefore it should be changed. As such, don't say you like our story and then try to get away with telling us you hate the way we write it, which brings me to my last point. The story is written the way it is FOR A REASON. It's a role play. We're not striving for perfection in the formatting. This story is written purely for the fun of it. So if you don't like the way we write it, THEN DON'T READ IT. People didn't stop reading because of the formatting. If that were the case, they would have stopped LONG ago. Also, just because you don't like something about the story, don't assume our other readers think the same as you do. Obviously, you shouldn't even be reading this story if you can't handle drama. Because this story thrives on drama. In the words of my partner, Notgonnadie, her response to your reviews was "Our fans have made a fanbase for this story on their own. We will NOT change it." And like we've said oh so many times before if you were even paying attention, this story is ALREADY WRITTEN OUT! IT IS NOT SOMETHING WE'RE WORKING ON CHAPTER BY CHAPTER. So quit telling us how to write the story and quit substituting bluntness for bitchyness. I know plenty of people on the internet who are blunt and none of them come across as bitchy as you are. So don't think you can get away with it. I'm certain there are LOTS of ways you could have structured those reviews that would have gotten your points across without sounding rude. If you're too lazy to take the time and write a proper review then don't even bother reviewing. And don't try passing your reviews off as constructive criticism either because I know the difference and those reviews were NOT constructive criticism. They were flames. Plain and simple. Constructive criticism doesn't involve trying to force your opinions on the writers nor is it telling them what you DON'T like about the story. So unless you can send in a proper review that doesn't focus on everything you hate about the story, we'd rather not have to listen to you whine and bitch about it.

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Really glad to hear it. =3

To Amerilia Lily Lotus: Oh, well welcome then. =3 It's very nice to meet you. Please send my thanks to Meta-Knight-1- fan for sending you our way. =3 We're very glad to hear you don't regret reading our story and we thank you for taking the time to review. =3 As for your question, the reason it says "Me" and "Notgonnadie" at the top is not because the characters are saying them. It's because this story is a role play. We're merely stating who does who's parts. For example, I do all of Dib's parts. Notgonnadie does all of Zim's parts. And we alternate accordingly when working with other characters in the story. Also, Notgonnadie is our beta, so she gets credit not only for writing the story but for editing it as well. I hope that clears up any confusion you had about our story. =3 And once again, we're very happy to hear you're loving our story. ZADR and TAGR are two of my favorite pairings as well. =3


	34. Chapter 35

A/N: ALRIGHT! Before I begin, let me first apologize for the super, long-ass wait there. I did NOT mean to keep you all waiting so long for this next chapter, but I don't want to hear any complaining about its lateness. For the record, I was very, very, VERY ill for a long time, and updating just had to be put on hold until I was feeling well enough to post again. But finally, my fever has broken and I can return to updating. So you can all dance around like giddy little school-girls now. Anyways. It doesn't seem I got many reviews for that last chapter, which was a bit surprising to me. But before any of you review today, let me tell you what I DON'T want to hear in your reviews. I do NOT want to get a bunch of, "Where the hell of Chapter 34?" reviews. If you guys followed my instructions in both Chapter 33 AND on my profile, then it should have been easy enough to find on your own. With that said, let me now present you all with Chapter 35 of ZADR Orange. Much love to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists, as always. And remember that feedback be much appreciated. So we hope you all enjoy this next installment of ZADR Orange. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gir: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

It wasn't until about 4 hours later that Gir came shooting through the door to Zim's bedroom, giggling, the mission assigned to him by Zim to wake the other up every morning for school. "Mastah! Mastah!" he crawled up onto the bed to jump up and down, stopping when the Irken didn't respond. "Mastah?" he crawled up closer to where Zim was sleeping under the covers and lifted them, reaching forward to peel back one of his eyelids. "Mastah?" he asked one last time, tilting his head to side confusedly.

Too tuckered out from the night before to budge, Zim simply grumbled and cuddled up closer to Dib.

Shuddering at the sudden closeness, Dib pulled away somewhat, having reacted to Gir's jumping up and down on the bed more than Zim had. "Ow..." he peeked his eyes open to look around, bringing a hand up to hold his head. "Wh-What happened last night...?" he asked himself, sitting up slowly just to let out another pained noise when a sharp pain ripped through his abdomen and an area of his loins that he had never expected to feel pain in. Wrapping his arms around himself, he doubled over somewhat. "Ouch! Why does my body hurt so much?" he yelped out, the pain like nothing he had ever experienced in his life.

"Mmm..." Zim felt around for Dib groggily.

Not wanting to be touched, Dib shifted away from the arm grabbing out towards him just to realize that he was completely naked. "What the-? Why am I naked?" he exclaimed, having completely forgotten about the night before, his mind having been in a complete haze due to the drugs he had been on.

Shivering, Zim finally cracked his eyes open a bit at the chill from the missing blanket and the absence of his Dib. "Dib?" he sat up a little, the blanket falling down more on him.

His eyes wide with fear, Dib look back at Zim. "Why am I naked? Wh-Where are my pants?" he asked a second time, panicking even more now.

About to say exactly what had happened, Zim quickly second guessed it seeing the state Dib was in and figuring it would be best if he didn't know. After all, what he didn't know couldn't really hurt him. "They are in the wash...Your senses were going haywire and the blood on your pants was making you squeamish..." he lied, not going into anymore detail about the previous night's events.

Still seeming rather shaken, Dib rubbed his hands up and down his sides, as though trying to sooth the pain racking his body. "Wh-What happened last night? Wh-Why am I in so much pain?" he asked, wanting to know what had happened between the time he had arrived at Zim's base and that following morning.

"You were hurting when you went to sleep too. The medicine must have worn off overnight..." Zim explained.

Sitting there looking rather confused, Dib could only blink at Zim's words, not remembering anything about last night. "I was?" he dropped his gaze down to the covers surrounding him. "Oh...I don't remember...But..." his eyes snapped wide open again. "But what about school?" he had completely forgotten about Gaz back at the school.

Yawning, Zim turned back over. "What about it?" he asked before noticing Gir. "OH! That's why you were bugging us..." he sighed, having forgotten that it was already Monday again.

"I left last night without telling Gaz where I was going. I need to make sure she's still okay. I think I accidentally left her with Tak at the school." Dib said, slowly pushing himself up out of the bed to search for his bag, in serious need of a new change of clothes now. "Ow!" he hugged himself tightly again, sinking down to his knees and squeezing his eyes tightly shut as he felt as though his insides had been pounded in last night.

Slipping out of bed in a panic now, Zim made his way over to Dib's side. "Dib, are you okay?" he asked, kneeling down beside him and wrapping his arms around him. "You need to lay down." he said going to pick Dib back up.

But Dib merely shook his head. "No...No...No...I can't...I have to get dressed and make sure Gaz is okay..." he said, struggling to pull away from Zim so he could stand back up himself and continue searching for his bag, his breathing heavy.

Standing up, more demanding now, Zim reached out to stop him. "No, Dib. You're going to rest HERE. I will go check on Gaz." he wasn't about to just let Dib leave in his current condition.

Shaking his head even more, Dib struggled yet again to pull away. "No! No, no, no! I don't want you two to fight anymore!" he finally found his bag and pulled out a new pair of pants and shirt to pull on before shuffling towards the elevator.

Growling at Dib's stubbornness, Zim followed after him. "Then I'm coming with you!" he declared, not wanting him to go alone knowing Tak was on the prowl.

Stopping right outside the elevator, Dib then turned back to face Zim, eying the Irken up and down. "You're still naked..." his voice came out quieter now.

"Wha-?" Zim looked down at himself and blushed. "O-Oh...Uhh...One second." he ran back into the bedroom to slip into some fresh clothes before then running back to meet Dib. "Okay. NOW I'm coming with you." he said upon returning.

His eyelids slipping halfway shut, Dib could only sigh at that. "Okay...Just please...Don't fight with her..." he pleaded with the other to control his anger.

Taking Dib around the waist, Zim nodded his head in agreement. "Whatever you say." he said, pulling the hybrid close.

Wincing a bit at the feel of Zim wrapping an arm around his waist but otherwise not pulling away, not wanting the other to worry about him, Dib allowed Zim to lead him into the elevator to take them up to the house level of the base so they could head for school despite how tired they both still were. Looking back at him just as they were about to leave the house, Dib just then seemed to notice that Zim had yet to dawn his disguise. "You forgot your disguise..." he pointed out to the other as though the alien didn't already know.

Zim, however, could only roll his eyes before sighing. "Forget it. It's not like anyone will notice." he shrugged it off, heading for the door.

Shaking his head, Dib pulled away to head over to the couch and pick up the wig and contacts laying there. "Please...Just wear them for me..." he held them out to the other, not wanting Zim to take any chances. "I just don't want to lose you again...Please..." he looked up at the other pleadingly.

Sighing again, Zim then smiled at Dib. "Okay...But only for you." he agreed, putting on the itchy wig and scratchy contacts. "Shall we go now?" he asked once he was fully disguised.

Nodding his head, Dib went ahead and headed out the door ahead of Zim, walking towards the school.

Following closely behind Dib, Zim kept his arm laced around his waist loosely as they walked.

His own arms remaining wrapped around his abdomen, Dib shuddered again, unable to keep his posture straight at this point.

Looking at Dib concerned all the while, Zim moved in closer to him. "You can lean on me if you need to..." he offered, able to tell Dib was still in a lot of pain.

Shifting his eyes over to look at Zim for a moment, Dib nodded his head after a moment and pressed himself close to Zim as they walked, letting the Irken support the majority of his weight. "I-I just don't get it...Wh-Why does everything hurt so much? I kn-know that I was in some pain last night...A lot of pain...B-But it somehow feels different from then..." he squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

Blushing at Dib's words, Zim swallowed thickly. "M-Maybe you're just going through recovery pains now..." he tried to come up with a reasonable explanation that Dib would believe.

Dib could only groan at Zim's words though. "It doesn't feel like I'm recovering...I-It really hurts to walk..." he leaned even more of his weight against Zim, causing them to both have to walk slower and inevitably making them even later for school than they already were.

Worried about what REALLY happened but afraid to tell Dib, Zim looked away from him.

Looking rather sick now, Dib looked back over at Zim after a moment. "Are you sure nothing else happened last night after I came to the base?" he asked, wondering whether he may have hurt himself somehow last night without even knowing it.

His eyes wide, Zim looked back up at him at the question. "I'm positive! You came in, woke me up, we had a small argument about Tak, then you went into shock and your senses went haywire, so I gave you some painkillers and brought you down to bed, tossing your pants in the wash to clean off the blood!" he said in one quick breath.

"I remember everything up until the part where you gave me the painkillers, but between then and waking up, everything's a blur...Heh...I did have one crazy dream last night though...At least...I think I did..." Dib said, looking down at the ground as though trying to concentrate.

Eyes remaining wide open, Zim blushed but avoided letting Dib see it as he pretended to be watching out for cars that might hit the puddles on the side of the road. "Yeah? Wh-What was it about?" he asked, curious as to whether the other may have actually remembered the previous night's events.

"I only really remember bits and pieces of it...But we were in bed together...And you were on top of me, kissing me and...and..." Dib began telling Zim what he remembered of his 'dream.'

"...And what?" Zim looked up at Dib a bit more curiously now.

Smirking back at the other a bit, Dib could only shake his head at the question. "Never mind...I'd rather not give you any ideas..." he said jokingly, not realizing that his so-called dream had in fact been reality.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. I shall definitely try to get us back on track with this story now that I'm feeling better. So we hope you guys will look forward to that. And remember, do NOT ask me where Chapter 34 is in your reviews this week. I stated very clearly in Chapter 33 how you guys were to go about getting to that chapter so do NOT expect me to be repeating myself on this point next chapter. This isn't to be mean, but if you guys can't follow directions, then it's your own problem. That said, let me now respond to those of you reviewed last chapter. =3

To Noop237: Well, hello there, new reviewer. =3 So nice of you to join us. ^^ We're very happy to hear you're enjoying our story so much, and let me apologize for not getting back to you sooner. I was quite sick for a while there but now I can get back on track with updating this story. =3 So we hope you'll enjoy this quick update and the multitude of updates we have to come in the near future. As for the ending, I wouldn't worry too much if I were you about this story ending anytime soon. This is, in fact, a VERY long story. We're actually in the process of working our way towards the record for the longest chapter fic posted here on FF. We may even reach well over 200 chapters by the time we're finished writing it. Who knows. But I will say we are approaching the 100th chapter now as we speak and we look forward to the day we can post that chapter here. But for now, we'll work through one chapter at a time. And our ending will more than likely be a happy one. Perhaps bittersweet for one of our characters but a happy ending nonetheless. So fear not. We wouldn't dream of leaving off such a story on a sad note, regardless of how sad it is throughout. =3

To Neutral747: Well, hello there. =3 Let me be the first to welcome you. We thank you for taking the time to leave a review here on our story. =3 Indeed, Dib is finally getting a bit of what he needs. But as you can see in this chapter, it sort of backfired on him in the end. XD We do torment them oh so much in this story. But it just makes for a far more interesting story in the end if I do say so myself. As for the TAGR, I'm afraid you'll just have to keep on reading to find out. =3 I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone. And, no. Bothering us will not make us update any faster, though it was a nice try. But I was very ill for a long time and having people bug me about when this story will be updated only makes me move that much slower. So just be patient like everybody else and I'll get to updating chapters when I get to them. This was a rare instance in which I went longer than planned without updating and the chances of it happening again any time soon are slim to please just keep the story in your story alert list and you'll be notified as to when new updates arrive. That said, we thank you once again for reviewing, and we hope to hear from you again soon. =3

AND BECAUSE IT -IS- A HOLIDAY, LET ME JUST WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TODAY! 8D I HOPE YOUR DAYS WERE FILLED WITH LOTS OF LOVE!


	35. Chapter 36

A/N: Ahaha! I am on time this week to update! Not much to say this week except that I hope you guys all enjoy reading this next installment of ZADR Orange. =3 Chapter 36 for those of you keeping track. ^^ As always, we extend much love to those of you who have faved or added this story to your story alert lists, and we just hope you all enjoy. =3 And remember, feedback be much appreciated. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Zita/Letter M/Brian: Notgonnadie

Dib/Random Teacher/Miss Bitters: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Giggling at Dib's teasing, Zim merely nudged Dib lightly. "Awww, come on. It can't be that bad." he urged Dib to tell him the rest of his dream.

Giggling himself at the small nudge, Dib finally sighed out lightly. "Alright... Well, to tell the truth, I don't remember exactly what you were doing to me in my dream, but whatever it was, you seemed to be enjoying yourself...a LOT...I figure you were finally having your way with me. Heh...But I could be wrong...Because...You promised you'd wait until I was ready, and I have a hard time imagining that you would go against your word...Even if only in a dream..." he smiled to himself, a small blush gracing his cheeks as he told Zim all this.

Sighing to himself, Zim looked away at that answer. "Yeah...I wouldn't want to lose your trust..." his voice came out in a whisper as he was slowly beginning to wake up all the way, just then realizing the enormity of what he had done. He then shuddered thinking about it. He had never wanted to do that before, to ANYONE, but Dib...He just couldn't help wanting him so badly that it hurt.

Just then seeming to notice Zim's sudden silence, Dib looked back at Zim somewhat confusedly. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked as they were drawing closer to the school.

Nodding mechanically, Zim's gaze remained fixed on the ground as they walked. "Yes...Zim is fine..." he lied, afraid Dib would be able to read what he had done just by looking at his face.

"O-Oh...Alright..." Dib looked back ahead of them as they approached the school, climbing the stairs in front to enter through the double doors. "Hmmm? Nobody's here..." he said, looking about the empty hallway, pulling away from Zim after a second to check a few of the other hallways, one arm remaining wrapped around his abdomen. "That's strange. If Tak didn't head straight for your base last night, then I assume she stayed here. But I would have thought she might have done some damage to the school, unless-" he got cut short as somebody grabbed his shoulder from behind.

"Hey! What are you two doing out here? Class started 15 minutes ago! Now get to class before I send you both to the principal's office!" a random teacher ordered, grabbing hold of Zim's shoulder as well so he could push the both of them in the direction of their classroom.

Eeping a bit at being caught off guard, Zim turned to glare back at the teacher. "We were just on our way there!" he moodily jerked out of the man's grip. "Now if you DON'T mind, we can walk on our own. Come on, Dib." he said, grabbing hold of the boy so he could lead him away from the teacher.

Pulling away from the teacher also and remaining close to Zim as they walked, Dib waited until they were out of earshot to whisper something into Zim's antennas. "D-Do you think Tak has disguised herself as a new student again and is waiting for us to show up to class?" he asked, afraid she might jump them the second they entered the classroom.

Shaking his head, Zim merely continued to lead him towards their classroom. "I think she'll probably be using the exact same disguise as before. She has no reason to change it." he whispered back so nobody would hear them.

"Unless she's trying to keep herself hidden from us. I'm more convinced now, since she didn't go straight to your base last night, that she's going to wait until your guard is down. Then strike when you're most vulnerable." Dib didn't think she would give herself away that easily by using a disguise Zim would already recognize.

Stopping in the middle of hallway and looking back at Dib, Zim nodded, knowing the other was probably right. "I agree. That's more her style anyways...So...Maybe...Should we look for her?" he asked, wanting to be the one who caught HER off guard rather than vice versa.

Looking back behind them, Dib could still see the teacher that had caught them watching them from down the hallway, making sure they went to class like they were supposed to. "Err...Maybe we should wait until lunch to look for her." he said as they approached their classroom door. "I don't think we'd get away with sneaking through the halls during class time. And besides, if she IS in class, then we should be able to tell. Just look for anybody new in our class." he told the other as they stood outside the door for a moment.

Glancing back at the teacher momentarily as well, Zim narrowed his eyes on him a bit from his spot. "Good idea..." he said before looking back at Dib. "You sure you'll be okay?" he asked, still a little concerned about Dib's current state.

Pulling away from Zim, Dib merely straightened himself out the best he could. "Y-Yeah...But if she is in there, we can't let her see us together. Not like this, at least. She doesn't realize that anything's going on between us. So act like you still hate me. I don't want her trying to get to you through me." he said, not realizing Gaz had already told her everything going on between him and Zim.

Nodding sadly, Zim stepped forward to give Dib a quick hug before pulling away. "I will try my best." he said, still sending Dib a fairly sad look.

Blushing slightly at the hug, Dib blinked wide eyes at the other before smiling. "I'm sure you'll do just fine." he reassured the other, looking around quickly to make sure nobody else was looking before leaning in to brush a gentle kiss to the Irken's lips.

"After all, you spent the last 5 years hating me, so it shouldn't be that hard to fake." he reminded the other before taking a few steps back away from the other to then glare at him, putting on his best act so nobody would be able to tell that they were no longer enemies.

Chuckling at the glare he received, Zim then put on the most smug expression he could muster. "WELL, DIB-BEAST! It seems I, ZIM, have once again defeated you!" he proclaimed loudly as he yanked open the classroom door and marched inside.

Grimacing at Zim's words, Dib followed Zim inside with a loud growl, all the while shifting his gaze to the rows of students in class, scanning through them for anybody new. But upon realizing that all the students in there were the same ones who had been in their class since the beginning of the school year, he took a double take to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

"Zim! Dib! You're late! Take your seats! Now!" Their teacher pointed to the two empty seats in the classroom.

Seeing as his and Dib's old chairs were the only ones open, Zim merely slid into his regular seat at the command.

Meanwhile, Dib could only flash Zim a slightly worried look at the fact that Tak didn't seem to be anywhere among the other students in their class before heading for his seat, otherwise not letting his guard down for even a second. Then, looking back up towards the front of the class where the teacher was lecturing, he cringed, knowing that this was going to be a long class period before they were allowed to go free.

Kicking back in his chair, already used to this routine by now, Zim acted as though nothing were wrong. He had been doing this for a LOT longer then Dib knew, at least, the part about PRETENDING to hate him anyways.

Turning his attention away from Zim AND the teacher to stare up at the clock in the classroom, Dib fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat as he watched the minutes tick away excruciatingly slow, one at a time as he only turned every couple of minutes to send Zim another glare, if just to keep up the act as best he could in case Tak just happened to be watching from some secret hiding spot.

"Heyyy..." Zita then spoke up, poking the letter M. "Does Dib look funny to you?" she asked, sending him odd glances.

Lifting his head to stare at Dib momentarily, he then returned his cheek to his hand in boredom. "Hmmm...No funnier then usual. Why?" he asked, not really caring however.

Zita shrugged. "I don't know...Something just seems off about him is all." she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was but knew something was different.

Staring over at him again, the letter M seemed to give it some thought. "Hey, you're right...Hmmm, but I don't know what." he shrugged himself.

Antennae twitching slightly, Dib found to his surprise that he could pick up on their conversation from his spot across the classroom, as well as a few other students' conversations, causing everything to mesh together in an uncomfortable fashion as he let his antennae droop just a bit, making him feel even more uncomfortable.

Picking up on the conversation behind him as well, Zim pricked his antennae up only slightly beneath the wig as he wondered whether they were talking about Dib being a hybrid or the fact that he seemed a lot less stressed out then usual.

Pushing his antennae back as much as physically possible, plastering them to his head and squeezing his eyes tightly shut as he tried to block out all the talking around him, Dib shifted about in his seat, trying to get comfortable but finding it impossible.

Noticing this, Zim glared at the clock angrily, ordering it in his mind to move faster so all the stupid students would stop talking about Dib. But it was no use.

"I think it's cause he isn't yelling like a lunatic." Brian joined the conversation.

"Heyyy. You're right. He's not." she said before turning to jab Zim in the back of the head. "Hey, why aren't the two of you yelling at each other? Huh?" she probed Zim for answers.

Antennae perking at hearing one of the students ask Zim that question, Dib shifted his gaze over to look at the disguised Irken as though waiting to hear his response.

Turning to glare at Zita, Zim quickly responded with the best excuse he could come up with off the top of his head. "The DIB-BEAST and I are at a compromise for the moment. We have decided to only fight AFTER school, you see." he explained as though it were obvious.

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Zita said before turning back to talk with the others about something else.

A slight blush gracing his cheeks as he tried to just ignore the rest of what the other students had to say about him, Dib shifted his gaze back down to stare at his desktop before any of them could notice him looking their way.

Letting out a relieved sigh when after what felt like YEARS the bell for lunch finally rang, Zim waited until the rest of the class filed out before rushing over to where Dib sat, still in his desk. "Are you okay?" he asked, not having meant for Dib to ever have to hear all that.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Poor Dibbles. He just now found out what the downside to having antennae is. XD But don't worry. The upside far outweighs the downside in this story, if you all know what I mean. X3 That said, let me now respond to those of you reviewed last chapter. =3

To ClockwerkOrange: Well, thank you. =3 (Huggles)

To Vithian: Hmm? ?_? You don't have to apologize. You're one of my regular reviewers. And it's not like I've updated recently. So don't even worry about it. I understand that you have a life outside of reading and reviewing this story just like I have a life outside of working on and updating this story. I didn't think you had given up on me. So just relax. I know you'll continue to review as this story progresses. =3 And I got your review on chapter 31. I just responded to it over on FA when I posted Chapter 34. But anyways, there really are some huge asses here on FF. But in most cases, it's best just to ignore them. Don't buy into those flames. The real problem with people here on FF is the fact that most of them don't know how to properly give constructive criticism. So I wouldn't take those kinds of comments all too seriously if I were you. Flamers usually don't know shit about what they're talking about. As for Christmas, we celebrate on my mom's side because they're the only side that lives near us. My dad's family is all spread out and nowhere near where we live, whereas my mom's side lives anywhere between 10 to 20 minutes away from us. You might have already said something about this. I can't really remember. Our conversation seems to have grown too complex. And it's hard to say what we've said already and what we haven't. For all we know, we could be just going around in circles, saying the same stuff over and over again to each other. XD But anyways, I don't even usually go out to social gatherings. Too many happy-go-lucky people around. My friends literally have to drag me out of my house if they want me to do anything with them that's social. Of course, they're not very social either. Why would we be? Like I've said before, it's cold here. We'd much rather stay indoors with a good meal and some video games to pass the time. I don't even think I know where my flute is any longer. About the only instrument I CAN find in my house is the piano, just because nobody's going to be moving it around. As for Pokemon, the series is pretty dead. I still enjoy the movies, of course. But otherwise, I prefer the older episodes over newer ones. Same with television shows. Not a big fan of Digimon or even Sailor Moon, but Hamtaro was always a plus in my book as was Card Captor Sakura. Robotnik was awesome at the time he still dominated the Sonic the Hedgehog universe, and I agree Eggman's not as awesome. But I can't say I hate Eggman overall. He's still a pretty awesome character despite. And Metal Sonic I always had mixed feelings towards. He's awesome but I don't think he got as much attention as he should have given he was one of the more successful creations of Dr. Robotnik. I DO have the original Sonic the Hedgehog movie though that introduces Metal Sonic. Knuckles was always my absolute favorite character though. I don't really know why. I just liked him a LOT. Perhaps it's because of his complex nature. In the chao world however, I have to admit, my favorite always has been and always will be Dr. Evil, even though he no longer exists. He was my baby. I just couldn't help but love him. Are you sure that was a virus you had? Sounds more like it might have been a problem with your power cord rather than a virus. I've never heard of a virus being able to cause something like that. But power cord I could understand in that situation. I guess it doesn't really matter if you got a new laptop though. I got one too. Not a new, new one. But a new, old one. And it works ten times better than my last one. One of my dad's karate students actually gave it to me, no charge. So I'm pretty happy I didn't have to pay money for a new one like I thought I'd have to. =3 I couldn't stand being sick again though. DX I couldn't even sit up enough to get on the internet at first. I came down with that stupid flu again only it was ten times worse than the last time. I want to say it's stress related because of school just starting up again, but I can't be sure yet. I guess I'll just have to see how I fare through the school semester. If I get sick a third time though, I'm definitely pulling out of one of my classes. The teacher's kind of a jerk and I just can't deal with him again this semester, especially if I'm sick and he lowers my grade for being sick. Perhaps some people can see a plus side to being sick, but honestly, I couldn't this time around. I was literally hanging over a bucket the entire time. I had a 104.0 degree F fever, my body hurt like hell, I was SO nauseous, headachey, and to put things simply, I just felt like crap. I couldn't even eat, sleep, or drink anything at all for nearly an entire week. That's how bad it was. And I lost weight like crazy. If I caught this flu again, I swear, I'd rather kill myself than go through all that shit a third time. I even still have phlegm trapped in my lungs from last week, which makes it a little painful to breath. I'm currently trying to cough it up so it doesn't build up again. *Shudder* I'm going to try and take it easy though for the next few months, just so I can get through the semester. I'm not going to let myself worry about school or anything like that. Because honestly, I just couldn't handle getting sick again. So anyways. that was indeed another long review. And here be my long reply back. But somehow it seems shorter than the last review and comment back. So I guess that's a good thing. 8D And we're glad to hear you're still finding our story awesome. (Hug) You're awesome for keeping up with it and reviewing. Thanks again and we look forward to hearing back from you next chapter. Until then~

To lilybean queen of the i ocean: We're glad to hear it. ^_^

To Watermelondrea: Oh, yes. That too. ^^

To Amerilia Lily Lotus: I'm glad I'm feeling better too. =3 And thank you for not complaining. We're glad to hear you enjoyed that last chapter. And we look forward to hearing back from you on this next chapter. ^^

To Neutral747: You're quite welcome. =3 We're always thrilled to see new faces here. Poor Dibbles was so drugged up on painkillers, there was no way he'd remember the night before save for in his dreams. And as for your question, I'd have to say it's a little bit of both. He's in pain because it's his first time, but you must remember, he DID just have his body cut into and organs taken out less than 48 hours before. So he IS still recovering from that change. Also, Zim kind of pounded into him fairly roughly. XD I think anybody would be in at least a little bit of pain after that. XD Thank you for being patient and don't worry. We'll keep this story updated fairly regularly so you don't go insane waiting for it. Just hang in there and we'll have a new chapter posted each and every week. And also, thank you for the well wishes. I'm already beginning to feel better now that my fever has broken. Lol. XD I actually didn't get much chocolate this Valentine's Day. I got pizza instead. =3

To Dlbn: Well, hello there. I don't believe we've met yet. Allow me to welcome you here, new reviewer. =3 Lol. Indeed poor Dibbles is in pain. But I think anybody would be after going a round with Zim. XD Not that he remembers. He was too drugged up on painkillers in our story for him to remember. And you'll be told much later on in the story what kind of painkiller it was. XD We're glad to hear you're enjoying the story. And we hope to hear from you again soon. =3 So until next time~

To Alec: Hello. Please keep in mind that this really isn't the place to be asking that as we have not even reached that chapter here on FF. For the record, however, there is nowhere else to go. Here and on that website are the only two places left to read the story. And seeing as how you can't find anymore chapters there, it should be obvious enough that we just haven't updated the story any more than that. The story will continue to be updated when we have chapters ready to be posted. But you'll just have to keep your eyes open for further updates from now on. We do not make announcements about when those updates are made. It's up to you readers to keep track of that yourselves. So please take the time to bookmark that page and subscribe to the website. And also, if you're not reading the story here, please keep your comments over there on the other website. We DO have a forum for people to leave comments on there. But here on FF, we'd prefer only receiving comments if you're actually reading the story here. For future reference, please contact us in a PM here rather than in a comment. Thank you.

To heartofstone15: Lol. XD Your horrible French spelling is excused as I'm sure it's ten times better than the horrible English spelling I receive from the majority of my friends. XD But anyways, thank you for the comment. We're glad you enjoyed that last chapter as well as poor Dibbles' torment. XD As for Zim, he'll get around to telling Dib the truth...EVENTUALLY. But in the meantime, we must leave poor Dibbles to wonder about that night. XD And, yes. To answer your question, yes, there will be more sex scenes later on in the story. XD Unfortunately, I can't say there will be any in the near future however. The next actual sex scene doesn't arise until we reach Chapter 86 in this story. So you've got a long wait ahead of you. However, to be fair, we do have at least two chapters between then that contain a little solo action. Not big scenes in the story, but still. It's at least something to hold you guys over. You'll just have to keep your eyes open for them. We will be posting two versions of those chapters. A PG-13 version for here and an adult version you'll be able to find on FA. So be sure to pay close attention to my authors notes. =3


	36. Chapter 37

A/N: Alright. Let's make this quick. Since I still have a ton of homework to get done tonight and not enough time, I'm going to keep this author's note really short. Sorry for the lateness. I had a ton of homework to get done last week. But now that I'm somewhat caught up, I guess I'll update for you guys really quickly. Here be Chapter 37 of ZADR Orange for those of you who've been waiting. And also, this be the chapter that all you TAGR fans have been waiting for. So we hope you enjoy this next installment and extend much love to those of you who have faved or added this story to your story alert lists. And as always, feedback be much appreciated. =3 So we hope you guys enjoy. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Miss Bitters: Notgonnadie

Dib/Random Teacher: Me

Gaz/Tak: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Dib couldn't help but let his antennas droop again. "They say things like that about me all the time, don't they? And you can hear it all." he sank down in his seat a bit, resting a cheek in his arms before closing his eyes, not feeling much like getting up now.

"Ohh, Dib..." Zim leaned down and wrapped his arms around the hybrid. "Don't listen to a word they say. I never did. Just be the good old Dib I love, and everything will be fine." he assured the other, nuzzling him before glaring out the door in the direction the other students had left. "They have no idea how much you've done for them..." he then said in a quiet whisper to him.

"Ehem!" Miss Bitters interrupted their conversation before either of them could say anymore.

Freezing at the sound of their teacher's voice, Zim turned around to glance back at Miss Bitters.

"As much as you two must 'LOVE' being in class together, I want to have lunch... SO GET OUT!" Miss Bitters ordered them, pointing out the door.

His face flushing a deep red color, Dib was out of his seat in a matter of seconds and scurrying out of the classroom with Zim, the sound of the classroom door slamming shut behind them following their departure. "Ow..." he wrapped his arms around his abdomen once they were out in the hallway, not ready for such treatment after the night he had had.

"Heh...Well...I guess Miss Bitters doesn't really mind 'US'." Zim laughed uneasily before squeezing Dib's hand. "But, uh...Shouldn't we be looking for your sister?" he asked the other, reminding him of their original reason for even coming to school that day.

Nodding his head slowly, Dib looked back at Zim with tired eyes. "Sh-She was in the library last I saw her...We were sleeping there for most of the night...B-But I'm not sure whether she actually went to class this morning..." he said, trying to think of all the other places she could possibly be in the school.

"Hmm...She likes video games...She probably would be in the computer room if she skipped classes for the day...But wait...Isn't that room locked on Mondays..? Hmm...Yeah, it is! I bet that's where she is...After all, she wouldn't have to worry about anybody walking in on her." Zim said before pulling Dib close and smiling. "She's probably playing some weird game to keep herself entertained." he said, almost certain that's where they would find her.

"Y-Yeah...That sounds like something she would do. If I know Gaz, she's probably been in there for hours. She knew how to break into the school, so I don't doubt she could get into that room as well." he agreed, nodding to himself assuredly.

Nodding his head also, Zim looked in the direction of the computer lab. "Then we'll check there first." he said, taking Dib by the arm and leading him off in the direction of it.

QQQ

Meanwhile, inside the computer room, Gaz and Tak continued playing their game without interruption.

"Hah! Looks like you lost, Gazzy." Tak grinned wide, twirling a finger around in the air in celebration. "You know what you promised, riiight?" she held out her last word, having made a bet with Gaz when they first started playing their game.

Scowling at her, Gaz growled out lowly at the other. "Yeah, yeah...Fine. You win. Just make what you want to do quick." she turned to face her, waiting for Tak to make her move.

A sly grin spreading across her face, Tak seemed to savor this small victory over the human girl. "Naturally." she said before reaching forward a hand to grip Gaz's chin and pull the girl forward to press and hold their lips together.

QQQ

Little did they know who was approaching the room in search of them.

"Ahh... Here we are." Zim smiled back at Dib as they reached the computer room.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Dib wasted no time at all in reaching forward to grab the doorknob, twisting it and opening the door for them. Unfortunately for him, the next sight to meet his eyes just about caused him to have a heart attack as he gasped and practically fell back against the door frame, his eyes growing wide. "Gaz?" his sister's name was the only thing he could manage to say in that moment.

Eyes half lidded, Gaz didn't respond as she was still in a daze from the kiss Tak had given her.

Pulling back at Dib's shout, however, Tak turned to face him rather alert still. "Oh, hello again, Dib." she smirked back at him, feeling rather pleased with herself now.

Stumbling into the room at Dib's shout, Zim looked about the place frantically, as though expecting the worst. "Wh-What is it?" he froze upon seeing Tak and a surprisingly very pleased looking Gaz as well. "Oh..." he seemed to piece things together rather quickly in his head before glancing over at Dib nervously.

"Zim!" Tak spat out like venom, her demeanor changing very quickly as she let go of Gaz. "I guess this saves me the trouble of finding you then." she said, taking up her weapon before stepping forward towards him.

Still getting over the shock of the situation, Dib for the first time since he had entered the room, narrowed his eyes on Tak before lunging at her, knocking the weapon out of her hand and grabbing her by the front of her uniform top. "What the fuck do you think you're doing kissing my sister like that, you bitch? Huh?" he shook her roughly, his hands shaking slightly from how tightly he was gripping her shirt.

Snapping out of her trance at all of Dib's yelling, Gaz instantly grabbed Dib from behind and threw him off of Tak. "Back off, stupid!" she shoved him against Zim.

Understanding very little of what was going on here, Zim merely stood silently at the door, catching Dib when he was thrown at him but otherwise not making any other sudden moves.

"Me?" Dib then moved to grab hold of his sister's shoulders so he could give her a rough shake of her own. "What the hell do you think YOU were doing letting her kiss you like that?" he screamed back at her, narrowing his eyes on her and staring her straight in the eyes so she wouldn't look away from him.

Glaring back at him, Gaz, didn't even try to push him away this time. "I lost the game. And we made a bet, so seeing as she won, she got to kiss me." she said as though it were obvious.

"But why would you agree to something like that?" Dib continued to interrogate her about the matter.

Gaz merely shrugged. "Why not?" was her only response, not really caring.

"Because she nearly destroyed Earth the last time she was here, remember?" Dib exclaimed before then turning to glare at Tak. "And YOU! Why would you WANT to make a bet like that anyways? What could you possibly hope to gain by kissing my sister?" he demanded.

Smirking at him, Tak was interrupted by Zim before she could even say anything at all.

"A mate most likely." Zim finally joined in on the conversation, crossing his arms and leaning back against the door frame.

His eyes growing wide at that response, Dib's face seemed to pale at those words. "A mate...?" he released Gaz and took a few steps back, dazed as everything around him seemed to blur before going dark, causing him to stumble into Zim as he blacked out on the other.

"Dib? DIB! " Zim held him close, shaking him. "Come on, Dib. Wake up!" he tried to bring Dib back around.

"He freaks out so easily nowadays..." Gaz merely stared down at Dib's prone body on the floor.

"Hmm...Odd thing to freak out about, considering his relationship with Zim after all." Tak commented also on Dib's reaction.

"Hey, you!...Eh...SHUT UP!" Zim tried to shut them up as he attempted to wake Dib back up.

Merely shrugging Zim's words off, Gaz turned her head to look over at Tak again. "Is that really why you wanted to kiss me though?" she asked, curious as to Tak's motives for making such a bet.

Snickering into her hands, Tak turned back to face Gaz. "Well certainly...We like the same things...And you're spicy. I like that." she said as though it only made sense they become mates based off those facts alone.

Smirking back at her, Gaz turned also to give Tak her full attention. "And you don't care about the fact that I'm a 'lowly human'? Heh...Well, what the hell? I'm willing to give it a try. Though I doubt my brother will be all too happy about it when he wakes up." she said, gesturing to him on the floor, his head in Zim's lap.

Wrapping her arms around Gaz, Tak smirked back at her. "It's traditional for Irken Invaders to take mates outside of their own species. Besides, your brother doesn't have much to complain about, right Zim?" she said, sneering at him. "That is...Unless I kill you now." she took up her weapon again to point at Zim.

Swallowing nervously, Zim could only hold Dib closer.

Groaning at the movement, Dib finally began to come back around, blinking his eyes slightly open to look up at Tak and his sister. Then, eyes flying back open at seeing Tak with an arm wrapped loosely around Gaz and gun held up to Zim's head, Dib sat up quickly, screaming at her to let go of Gaz.

"You let her go, you bi-" he stopped mid-sentence as his eyes grew wide and he instantly doubled over in pain, a sharp pain ripping through his abdomen. "Ouch!" he practically yelped, needing a moment to catch his breath as his insides had begun screaming at him again.

"Dib? Dib, what's wrong?" Zim just about panicked, pulling him close and rocking back and forth with him. "Tell me what's wrong. Please..." he pleaded with the other in a soft voice to tell him.

Looking amused, Tak thought things over for a moment, slowly coming up with reasons for this outburst.

Waiting for a portion of the pain to pass before opening his mouth to speak, Dib was suddenly interrupted by somebody else yelling at them from down the hall.

"What's going on down there?" another random teacher began making her way down the hallway towards them.

Looking out the door at the approaching teacher, Tak cursed under her breath. "Well, it seems I should be going for now." she said before leaning forward to brush another kiss to Gaz's lips again, smirking, her eyes half lidded. "I'll meet you after school, little Gaz." she purred out the little nickname before pulling out her spider legs and disappearing into the shadows above, not wanting to be caught without a disguise on.

Reaching the entrance to the computer room, the teacher pushed open the door all the way to find Gaz, Zim, and Dib inside. "What on Earth do you all think you're doing in here? You know very well that this room is off limits on Mondays!" she glared down at them. "Now, come on! All of you! Return to your classes!" she ordered them, pulling Zim and Dib out by their shirts and Gaz by her arm.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Though it had less ZADR in it and more TAGR this time around. But we'll get back to the ZADR next chapter. X3 That said, let me now respond to those of you reviewed last chapter. =3

To Sandria-who-is-sorry: Lol. XD Creative name for this week's response. Ahem. But anyways. Don't even worry about not reviewing. =3 I know you're always good for getting back to us and I don't worry about losing you as a reviewer when it comes to this story. So no need to apologize. ^^ You're still one our best reviewers, whether you think so or not. (Hug) And as for the adult chapter, since I know you've read through this story on DA already, you should be able to find the other link to it in our author's note for Chapter 33 there. It shouldn't give you any problems since you don't have to sign up. Just press the "confirm your 18 years or older button" and you'll be good to go. =3 Lol. XD I'm not so sure Dib has a post-sex afterglow of any kind after the night he had. XD Though I can agree with just about all of those afterglows except for the post-butt-sex afterglow. Technically, what Zim and Dib had wasn't butt-sex. Dibbles' anatomy has changed in this story due to the procedure. Therefore, he actually has a slit, which we'll discuss more later on in the story. And I know how you feel. Homework has for the most part sucked the life out of me these past few weeks. But thankfully, I HAVE been getting it done. So I won't complain too much. I've even given some thought to starting another solo fic during my free time. Though I've planned for it to be only a short 5 chapter fic with prologue and epilogue at most. We'll see. And yes. I do know how it feels to lose my drive. My remedy for that though is to just look at other people's works to inspire myself, which very rarely fails me. So I'm usually always good to go. =3 Happy belated Valentines Day to you as well, and we hope to speak with you again very soon. ^^

To lilybean queen of the i ocean: Glad to hear it. 8D

To heartofstone15: Lol. XD Indeed. And don't worry. The perv-monster actually lives in my room. Those noises are perfectly NOOORRRRMMMMAAAALLLL... XD But, yes. Poor Dibbles can hear lots of things with his new antennae, some bad and some good, but mostly bad. XD He'll get used to it though. And this isn't the first time I've run across a rabid Dib fangirl so it's alright. XD We all love Dib here anyways. It's just that some of us love tormenting him for the sake of our stories. XD And as I've said multiple times already, the rating here doesn't matter. It's rated as M because the story itself does in fact contain sexual content. FF does NOT allow sexual content on their site though. The people who get away with it are the one who just haven't been reported yet by some hater. As for me, I'm not one of those people. FF has banned me in the past, removed a story of mine, and warned me against posting sexual content on their site. I refuse to risk having this story removed from the site just because FF is afraid of sex. So it only gets the rating to let people know what they can be expecting in it. I will not actually POST those M chapters however.

To Vithian: Lol. XD Indeed. If only he knew what had happened to him the night before. Then maybe all the pain would make sense to him. XD As for Tak, she did indeed pop in then disappear. But as you can see from this last chapter, she be back! And with some sexy TAGRy goodness too. (Hurr~) But nope. Neither her or Gaz went to class that morning. Why would they? They had video games to distract them that entire time. XD Lol. That's because your reviews are massive blocks of text. You're the most talkative person here...err...well, next to me, at least. I could talk for HOURS. Lol. As for your apology, I accept it then. But really, you didn't have to apologize. =3 Hmmm...That's weird. You may want to try again then. Sometimes FA is just butt munch to its users. Worst comes to worse though, you could try just looking me up on there. My username is patthekitsune, same as here, and you may want to continue playing around with your settings some more if it still won't let you view. I know it's possible. The mature setting on that site can be quirky at times though. Notgonnadie was trapped with a mature block for several months because the site wouldn't register that she was over the age of 18. She finally got it off though. FA will lock your mature setting if your age is set at under 18 years of age, so sometimes you gotta be careful about that when getting set up. As for the lack of constructive criticism here, it's sad really how few people actually know the proper way to give it. Hell, few teachers actually know the proper way to give it and that just ends up fucking over half the population of young critiquers out there. Because if something somebody says to you makes you feel like crap about your writing, they're obviously not presenting it in the right way. Saying how you think a person should write something does them no good. You might as well write it yourself. Analyzing a work though and leading them in a direction of improvement, however, is how it should really be done. You don't need to tell them how to do it, just offer possible suggestion they can take from or not depending on where they want to take the story. And, no. It's not just you. We are going in circles with a good chunk of our conversation. The parts about being social, our musical instruments, and Robotnik vs Eggman have been going on long enough now so I think I'll drop them for us. XD We've talked a bit about Pokemon and other series we've watched but I'm a bit surprised you haven't seen Card Captor Sakura. It's such an awesome series. You should look it up. As for Pokemon, if you just google Pokemon episodes, you should be able to find the episodes to watch for free online. I've been doing it the past couple of weeks. They're there if you just look for them. And it's better than paying money to buy them at a video store. Lol. Every character in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe is better than Amy. XD Not that I don't like Amy. I can't say I know of any character I don't like in the STH universe. Except for maybe Rouge just because I don't like the advances she makes on Knuckles. I'm a traditionalist. I prefer his relationship with Julie-Su in the comics. You probably worded your response wrong when talking about your laptop. It makes more sense this time around though. And I know what you mean. Sometimes it's just a matter of what will kill your laptop first. Viruses or technical difficulties. I don't get sick often either but the few times I do, it's always really bad. My parents don't usually realize just HOW bad until it's too late. To them, I'm the healthy child. So when I get sick, they very rarely do anything for me because they think I'm faking or will get over it by the time I reach a 104 degree fever and don't want to be moved from my bed, they offer to take me to a doctor, which pisses me off to no end because by then I'm hardly able to stand without falling back over. My teachers don't care either. They just automatically lower my grade the second I miss their class. And I'm give absolutely no extra time to actually catch up. It's just a game of keep up or you fail. Simple as that. But whatever. I stopped caring. I didn't even catch up on homework for this semester. I decided to just start from wherever we were and blow off what I missed. I even blew off a midterm portfolio of poems I was supposed to turn in for one of my classes because there was no way in hell I was getting done three weeks worth of poems with revisions and working notes all in one night. I just said fuck it. I may not have a perfect grade this semester but I don't really care. It's not like anybody else will be seeing my grades if I screw up on a class. And I can always take it over again for a better grade. It'll just prolong my graduation an extra semester or two. No big deal. Anyways. It would seem I left quite a long reply still despite the dropping of three subjects we've already discussed. But oh well. We'll get it down to a shorter conversation soon enough. XD I'm certain of it. So until next time~

To MysteryPainter: Well, hello there, new reviewer. So nice of you to join us. =3 I'm sorry for the wait on this next chapter. I needed some time to get homework out of the way first. But, for the record, I do TRY at least to keep this story updated on a weekly basis. And we're glad to hear you're enjoying our story so far. =3 There will definitely be plenty more to come in the near future in case you were worried. So please do feel free to add this story to your story alert list if you haven't already. As for a story with Gaz in it, I'm actually in the process of plotting out a TAGR story that I may post here soon. So if you're into that sort of thing, it might be something you'd want to keep your eyes open for. Here's your next update of ZADR Orange though. We hope you enjoy it and hope to hear back from you again very soon. Until next time~


	37. Chapter 38

A/N: Ah, yes. Another day, another update. Not much to say this week except that we hope those of you affected by the earthquake in Japan are doing well. I actually had a voluntary evacuation warning where I lived when we heard the resulting tsunami was heading our way. But thankfully everything seemed to be in one piece when I returned home in the afternoon. So I hope the rest of you all are doing fine as well. For those of you waiting on Chapter 38 of ZADR Orange, here it be on time this week. We extend much love to those who have faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And as always, feedback be much appreciated. So we hope you all enjoy. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Gaz: Notgonnadie

Dib/Random Teacher: Me

Coach: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Flashing Dib several worried looks, Zim quickly located the hybrid's hand and gripped it tightly.

Meanwhile, Gaz merely growled at the teacher who had grabbed them. "We CAN walk, you know!" she snapped, wanting to pull her arm away.

Finally letting go of them once they were a good distance away from the computer room, the teacher then placed her hands upon her hips. "Fine! But if I catch you in there again, you'll be facing a month's worth of detentions!" she glared at them before pointing them in the directions of their respective classes.

Stumbling into Zim again once they were free, Dib squeezed his hand back tightly and tried to shake off the pain that was racking his body as they began heading in the direction of the gym, their next class.

Zim could only hug Dib close as they began to walk. "Well, no point hiding our relationship now...Tak already knew...As for you..." he glanced over at Dib. "I think you should sit this class out..." he said, afraid attending this class would only serve to hurt Dib even more, especially if he pushed himself too hard after last night.

Shaking his head in response, Dib squeezed his eyes tightly shut as he held his stomach. "I'll be fine...Besides...As soon as class it out, I'm going to find Tak and rip her fucking head off for thinking she could kiss or even TOUCH my sister like that!" he growled, obviously still pissed off about what he had walked in on back in the computer lab.

"Aren't you being a little hypocritical?" Zim asked, looking away, feeling rather uncomfortable with their current conversation.

"What? What's that supposed to mean? I'm not being hypocritical! I'm just worried for Gaz's life is all! What makes you think I'm being hypocritical?" Dib demanded, feeling a little insulted now by Zim's words.

Blushing a bit, Zim looked back at Dib before then pointing to himself.

Blinking back at the Irken for a few moments, Dib then turned his head to glare off to the side. "Don't be ridiculous, Zim. Things between you and me are different than things are between Gaz and Tak. They barely even know each other! But we've been in each others lives for the past 5 years! And the only reason they even kissed in the first place was because Gaz lost some stupid bet! Besides, Tak's whole purpose for even coming here in the first place was to try and kill you, but I'm not letting her lay a finger on you!" he tightened his grip on Zim's hand.

Shaking his head at those words, Zim then turned to pull Dib into a kiss. "My big, strong defender of Earth, aren't you?" he purred the words out playfully.

"Ehem!" their P.E. coach interrupted before Dib could even really respond to the kiss.

Having looked away to the ground with a blush, his face having flared up a bright red, Dib jumped when he heard the coach behind them.

"Sorry to interrupt your little 'love fest', but you two are already late for class!" the coach blew his whistle. "Now get in there and get changed already before I give you both detention!" he ordered, pointing in the direction of the changing rooms.

Running into the boys' changing room with Zim to quickly get his gym clothes on, Dib almost frantically began putting in the combination for the lock on his locker as Zim followed in after him, all smiles.

Giggling into his hands, Zim followed suite and went to his own locker to pull his gym clothes out. "You know, at this rate, everyone in school will know we're going out, Dibbers." he said giddily before looking up to see Dib's frantic state. "What's wrong, Dib?" his smiled seemed to fall away, seeing how frazzled the boy was.

Jumping a bit at Zim's question, Dib turned to face him as he was pulling on his gym shorts. "N-Nothing...I'm just...tired, I guess...B-But everything's fine...Really..." he said, then reaching back into his locker to pull out his shirt.

Looking more worried now as he watched Dib pull off his blue shirt to pull on the horribly bland colored gym shirt they provided them with at this school, Zim stopped dressing himself. "Are you sure?" he asked before sighing and turning back to continue getting dressed, fidgeting in his spot as he thought about the night before again. "Uh, D-Dib...I should tell you something..." he began to say, knowing he needed to tell Dib about what had happened between them when he had been on those drugs.

Looking up just as soon as he had gotten his shirt on, Dib glanced over at Zim as the other was finishing getting dressed as well. "Hm? What's th-" he got cut short again as their coach came barging in, blowing his whistle.

"Come on! What's taking you two so long? The rest of the class is waiting! Move it! Move it! Move it!" the coach blew his whistle a third time, causing Dib's antennae to fall back in discomfort.

Flinching as well, Zim sighed at being interrupted. 'I really have to tell him...B-But I can't do it in front of everyone else...' he thought to himself, looking very down as he followed Dib out of the dressing room.

Looking back at Zim as they were exiting the dressing area, Dib just then seemed to notice the Irken's guilty-looking facial expression. "I-Is something wrong?" he asked, blinking at Zim curiously.

"Hey! No talking until after I've finished explaining what we're going to be doing today!" The coach yelled at Dib before turning to address the rest of the class. "Alright! Listen up! Today we're going to be playing dodge ball! So everybody get in line so I can split you up into different groups!" the coach instructed the entire class to do.

Clinging to Dib, Zim gulped, not wanting to be put on a separate team from Dib.

Meanwhile, their coach merely continued to count all of the students as he walked along the line, stepping in between two random students once he had finished. "Alright! Everybody to the right of me, grab a ball! Everybody to the left, spread out!" he pointed in two different directions.

Looking at where they were in comparison to the coach, Dib cursed. They were to the left.

Not wanting to split away from Dib, Zim could only grip tighter to him. "We should leave, Dib..." his voice shook, not imagining this going very well were they to stay.

"What? Why?" Dib looked back at Zim confused.

Knowing Dib would never let him take him away because he felt bad, Zim's look could only grow even more nervous. "Uh...I-I feel sick!" he proclaimed, hugging closer to Dib. 'Yeah. That makes sense.' he reassured himself that it was a plausible reason for leaving.

His facial expression becoming worried now, Dib turned to look at Zim better. "You feel sick? Well, if that's the case then let's-" he didn't get a chance to finish as one of the students pelted him straight in the gut with one of the dodge balls, causing the coach to blow his whistle and yell at the other student.

"I didn't tell you to start!" the coach pointed to the bleachers for the other student to take a seat.

But it was too late for Dib as he felt a blinding pain overcoming him before he collapsed onto the floor, not exactly passing out but not fully conscious either.

"DIB!" Zim exclaimed before kneeling down next to him. "Dib! Dib, come on! Speak to me! Wake up!" the disguised Irken pulled him up a little, propping his head up in his lap. "Uh...Uhh...COACH! I-I need to take him to the nurse!" he didn't know what to do, just wanting to get Dib out of there.

Approaching the fallen Dib, the coach knelt down near him to check him. "Fine, fine...Take him to the nurse then...As for the rest of you, this is why I tell you to only start when I give the signal!" he said, standing up and gesturing to Zim and Dib.

Nodding thankfully, Zim scooped Dib up and carried him out of the gym in a hurry. "Come on, Dib. Let's just go home." he said once they were out of earshot of the coach.

His vision being invaded by white light everywhere, Dib rolled his head back and forth in Zim's arms. "Mmm...Zim?" he asked, squeezing his eyes tightly shut, the light making his head hurt. "Wh-What about Gaz? I...Mmm...I can't leave her alone with Tak..." he didn't want to leave yet.

"Tak left, Dib, and Gaz is in class. She'll be fine." Zim tried to convince him otherwise.

Struggling a bit still, Dib otherwise didn't seem to have much of a choice in the matter of whether he was going home or not. "B-But what if...What if...What if she comes back?" he didn't like the idea of leaving Tak to roam about.

"Then we'll deal with her then, but right now, you need to rest, Dib." Zim said, nuzzling the boy gently.

Finally stopping his struggling when they were already out the school doors and down the street, drawing closer and closer to Zim's base, Dib fell silent as he let his eyes drift closed tiredly. "...Okay..." he finally gave in, not saying anything else as he just let Zim carry him all the way back to the base where he could rest more comfortably.

Deciding when he entered the living room that it would be better to just take Dib all the way to bed rather than setting him down on the couch to let him get comfortable just to end up moving him later, Zim held Dib close as he headed straight for the elevator in the kitchen. "I love you..." he purred out softly, nuzzling Dib. "You know I do..." his voice came out as a soft whisper to the other in his antennae.

Zim's voice a comfort to him, Dib had by then already drifted back off to sleep, the previous night's activities having tired him out more than he knew.

Laying him down in the bed, Zim sighed as he pulled the hybrid's shoes off. "Good night, Dib." he said in a quiet voice before kicking his own shoes off and crawling into bed next to him to keep him company. Very tired himself thanks to last night, he then pulled blankets up around them and drifted back off to sleep, curling himself around Dib.

Days passed, days turning into weeks, weeks turning into one month, and one month turning into two. For the next two days after their little romp under the covers, Dib had stayed in bed, still in pain. But after one more day of bed rest and no school, it seemed he was beginning to feel better and would at least be able to return to school on Friday.

Seeing this as a good sign, Zim decided not to tell Dib after all about what had happened and figured it would be best they just went on with their lives, something they were able to do surprisingly easily despite the threat of Tak being out to kill him and Dib still being pissed off at her for kissing his sister. Gaz, of course, could care less about what Dib thought about the entire thing. Contrary to what she thought, she was actually enjoying herself quite a lot being with Tak and had even moved in from the school to a base Tak had set up not too far away. Unfortunately, this course of action only created more problems between her and Dib as Dib completely refused to talk to her now, even when he saw her at school.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Oh, God. We're one chapter away from Chapter 39. D8 For those of you who don't know, Chapter 39 is where we expect to lose at least half of you. So that will make next week's post a little bittersweet. DX But I guess it just can't be avoided. That said, let me now respond to those of you reviewed last chapter. =3

To Dlbn: Lol. XD Well, it may have taken us some time to get to Tak and Gaz, but we didn't want to rush through the story just for that. After all, it IS a ZADR story. But anyways, yes, poor Dibbles is in quite a bit of shock at the moment. But if you really think about it, he's ALWAYS in shock about something in this story. XD So he'll get over it soon enough. Of course, he never really does get over the fact that it's Tak his sister decided to hook up with. His reactions to Tak will stay pretty consistant throughout the story. As for Miss Bitter's, however, I don't think she cares much about what her students do in their free time just so long as they don't do it under HER free time. And I can imagine you telling your friends to leave so you can have lunch. XD I think we all get like that some of the time though. Hope the wait for this next chapter wasn't too horrible for you. And as always, we look forward to hearing back from you. So until next time~

To ClockwerkOrange: Well, thank you. =3 I'm glad you haven't abandoned us. Take your time catching up though. ^^ This story isn't going anymore. And as promised, we did finally throw in some TAGR to this story. So we hope you enjoyed what you had been waiting for. =3 As for the Julie-Su comment, I wouldn't be able to call myself a true Sonic the Hedgehog fan if I didn't know who Julie-Su was. She's one of my favorite characters. And I've been collecting the Sonic the Hedgehog comics for years now. So I can't deny the existence of those characters who get so little love nowadays in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. =3

To lilybean queen of the i ocean: WOOT! NEW WORD! Glad you're enjoying it still. =3

To heartofstone15: Of course it's forbidden to post sexual content here. This site is accessable to minors. This is why FF makes a very clear distinction between this site here and their sister site, Adult FanFiction. If this site actually allowed the posting of sexual content then they would have a warning posted that prohibited those under the age of 18 to continue any further. Didn't you read the rules when you first joined? It states very clearly in the Terms of Service that, "FF reserves the right to decide whether Content or a User Submission is appropriate and complies with these Terms of Service for violations other than copyright infringement or privacy law, such as, but not limited to, hate crimes, pornography, obscene or defamatory material, or excessive length. FF may remove such User Submissions and/or terminate a User's access for uploading such material in violation of these Terms of Service at any time, without prior notice and at its sole discretion." Like I said before, the people who get away with it just haven't been reported yet. So if you have posted anything sexual here, I would highly recommend moving those works to somewhere safer. Otherwise, you may lose an entire story to the system. Because they don't even give a warning before deleting an entire story. And yes. They DO delete the ENTIRE story. NOT just the chapter. I wouldn't dare risk having all of ZO removed because of that. And as for Tak, she is indeed awesome which is even more reason not to risk having this story taken down. (Shakes fist at FF)

To Opel45: Err...Good for you?


	38. Chapter 39

A/N: Well, well, well. Will you look at that? We've reached Chapter 39 of ZADR Orange here on Fanfiction. This chapter be quite a milestone in our story. Why? Well, you'll all see soon enough why. But before we start, I actually have quite a few announcements to make this week so please READ THIS CAREFULLY. First of all, for those of you attending the upcoming InvaderCon, I thought it might be nice to let you all know that my Co-writer, Notgonnadie, WILL BE ATTENDING. So if you'd like to meet her in person, please do keep your eyes open for her. You might have to do a bit of asking around to find her, but just think about how awesome that would be if you DID meet her there. If any of you would like to contact her about what she'll be wearing while there so you might have an easier time finding her, you can message her on her fanfiction account: Chaos of the asylum. Unfortunately, I will NOT be attending as I do not currently have the time, money, or health to do so. So perhaps come the weekend, I'll hold a little something special here on FF for those of us who CAN"T attend. =3 Perhaps set up a random forum for us to have fun on and chat about IZ in. We'll see. So keep your eyes open for that. =3 Also, for reasons beyond my control, I would like to announce I'll be switching gears when it comes to reviews on this story. I am disabling the anonymous reviews due to trolling I've gotten on this story. None of my regular reviewers of course. But this is mainly to prevent an ex-friend of mine from continuing to troll my FF account. Therefore, if you do not already have an account here, you may want to make one in order to review. The person trolling me currently is a jealous DA friend who began an entire flaming war over on DA a few weeks ago. Because she will not just drop the situation, I am having to resort to any means possible to block her from having contact with me. Because honestly, I'm sick of putting up with her shit. So nobody blame yourselves for this. It's just a situation that arose as a result. Please forgive me for any inconvenience this may bring, but like I said, I don't put up with anyone's shit. Now, as for the matter concerning today's chapter. Like I mentioned last chapter, NGD and I both expect to lose a portion of our readers after reading through today's chapter. Why? You'll see soon enough. As such, please keep your reviews clean. I don't want a bunch of "WTF! I hate this!" reviews from any of you. If you don't like where we're taking the story from this point on, please kindly just press the back button and never return to our story again. We do not need a bunch of negative reviews centering around where we're taking this story from here on out. Should anybody leave such a negative review, they shall be blocked immediately and reported for abuse. And last but certainly not least, since we've finally reached this point in the story, I'd like to announce to all our FF readers that both NGD and I are currently in the process of hosting a fanart contest for this story. Should any of you like to enter, please do say so in your reviews and I'll PM you back with details on the contest and its prizes. In short, the challenge is to just make fanart from any past, present, or future scene in the story. No deadline has been set yet but that will be explained in the details later. And also, you are free to submit as many entries as you'd like should you decide to enter. =3 So we hope we pick up at least a few new contestants. As always, we extend much love to those of you who have faved or added the story to your story alert lists and we hope you enjoy today's chapter. So remember, feedback be much appreciated.

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib/Computer: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

More time passed as Zim tried to keep Dib from getting himself killed by Tak on several occasion, but after a few more tries, Dib stopped, being too occupied with sudden sick feelings he would get.

Zim assumed he was just having trouble adjusting to digesting his old favorite foods with his new digestive track, so he was only mildly surprised the first few times he ended up throwing it up. He was always there to hold Dib tight afterwords though. So for the first few times, he thought nothing much of it, but as time went on and it continued, they both began to become worried. It had only been a bit over two months since the 'incident' when Zim started to notice that Dib was a little pudgier then usual.

"Dib?" Zim asked one morning, stroking his hair lightly. "You feeling any better today?" he asked, taking a seat on the bed and leaning over him.

Blinking his eyes open to peer up at Zim groggily, Dib could only groan. "Ugh...No..." he replied, still in bed after having had another rough night. "I'm starting to think I may not have digestive problems at all...Feels more like the stomach flu to me..." he groaned again, curling in on himself and squeezing his eyes tightly shut as another wave of nausea overcame him again.

Rubbing his back, Zim nuzzled into him. "Want me to carry you to the bathroom again?" he offered, having gotten used to this routine by now.

Nodding his head slowly in response, Dib reached up his arms to Zim. "I think you better hurry. I..." his eyes grew wide suddenly just as Zim was about to lift him. "Too late!" he shoved Zim aside and made a mad dash for the bathroom, his hands covering his mouth as he made it just in time to bring everything up that he had eaten the day before.

Rushing after him, Zim knelt down beside him and stroked his hair and lower back soothingly once he had pulled away. "I think we have a problem..." he nuzzled Dib sadly, not knowing what could possibly be making him so sick all of a sudden.

Antennae drooping, Dib merely sat there, panting for a few moments as he tried to recover. "I...I'm fine, Zim...J-Just give me a few hours, and then I'll head on down to the drug store and see what medications they have for nausea..." he sounded congested.

Looking a bit unsure about that, Zim's own antennae fell back at the suggestion. "Well...If that's what you want...I'll go with you though." he said, not wanting Dib to go alone.

Nodding his head slowly, Dib agreed to let Zim come with him. "Don't worry...I'll be fine. I'm sure it's just a bad case of the flu or something. It will pass in a few days. Besides, what else could it be?" he reassured the other that it was nothing to worry about.

Pulling Dib into a loose hug, Zim could only sigh. "I hope you're right..." he was terrified that something far worse might be wrong with Dib.

Smiling back up at him weakly, Dib leaned up slowly to press a gentle kiss to Zim's lips. "I'll be fine...And while I'm down there, why don't I go ahead and shop for a few other foods? You know, some things that won't upset my stomach so much." he suggested, thinking that perhaps a change in diet would help.

"Okay..." Zim sighed out, not quite so sure that would help Dib as he helped the other to stand up slowly.

Smirking at the Irken, Dib slowly got back to his feet with Zim's help. "Unless you'd rather I didn't. Maybe the next time I run into Tak, I could get back at her for brainwashing my sister by puking all over her uniform." he laughed jokingly, trying to lighten Zim's mood a bit.

But Zim could only glare at Dib for that remark, not finding it very funny. "Don't even joke about that. Just avoid her." he said, pulling Dib closer in a more protective fashion.

Antennae falling back at the glare he received from Zim, Dib dropped his gaze back down to the ground below. "S-Sorry..." he apologized before sighing, his eyelids falling half-lidded as things suddenly seemed to grow very awkward between them.

Noticing the change in Dib, Zim sighed also and looked away. "...I'm sorry...I shouldn't have reacted like that...but I don't want you getting hurt..." he worried constantly about Dib's safety.

Continuing to stare down at the ground for a few moments longer, Dib didn't look back up until he went to speak again. "I know...But if you understood how I felt about my sister staying with her, you'd know why I want to get back at her so badly. I mean, Gaz is my last living relative present in my life. And it just feels like Tak is taking her away from me..." he explained, hugging himself a bit.

Sighing yet again, Zim didn't want to look back at Dib. "Well...It's not like she's hurting Gaz..." he said half under his breath.

Sighing also, Dib dropped his gaze back down to the ground. "That's not what I'm afraid of though...I'm not afraid of her hurting Gaz. I know full well that Gaz can take care of herself in that respect. It's "other things" I'm worried about. Like what the fuck Tak's doing with my sister at night when she's not in school." he shuddered, not wanting to think about it. "For all I know, they could be having sex every night, Zim! I know Gaz is mature and all, but that doesn't change the fact that she's only 15 years old!" he looked back up at Zim with a more serious look on his face now.

Blushing deeply at the word 'sex', Zim refused to meet Dib's gaze. "S-Sex? Umm...Ehem...Uhh...I-I think she's fine. I doubt they would be doing THAT." he stuttered out nervously, just wanting to steer away from that topic now.

Antennae drooping even lower at Zim's words, Dib dropped his voice down to a whisper. "Well, you're the one who said she probably wanted Gaz as a mate...What else am I supposed to assume their doing if not that...?" he reminded Zim of who had even brought it up.

"Uhh..." Zim tried to think of something he could say but shut his mouth quickly, not knowing what else he could say as he kept his eyes averted.

Entire body seeming to slump at Zim's lack of a response, Dib merely hugged himself tighter. "See? I knew I wasn't just being paranoid." he then closed his eyes and sighed again.

Sighing at Dib's sudden downtrodden demeanor, Zim could only shake his head a bit. "Dib...I...should tell you something..." he said, his conscience beginning to eat away at him again.

His antennae still drooping, Dib looked back up at Zim and sniffed. "Yeah? What is i-" he cut himself short suddenly and wrapped his arms around his abdomen. "Hold that thought!" he said before quickly returning back to his knees in front of the toilet as another wave of nausea overcame him for the second time that morning.

Worried again, Zim could only watch as Dib brought up his dinner from the night before. "A-Are you sure you can go on your own to the store?" now he really didn't want to let Dib leave on his own.

His face a pale white now, Dib pulled away again after a moment. "Nooo..." he groaned, curling in on himself a bit, not wanting to move from that spot.

Looking sadly at Dib, Zim knelt down to wrap an arm around him, rubbing his lower back gently. "Are you sure you don't want the computer to scan you?" he then asked, having offered that option to Dib a few days earlier, which the hybrid swiftly turned down.

His antennae shivering, Dib shuddered at the thought. "I don't know what good it would do, but if it would make you feel better to do so, I guess it couldn't hurt...B-But I don't think I can walk right now..." he informed the other, not feeling up to trying at the moment.

Sliding an arm under his legs, Zim held behind his back as he hoisted the boy into his arms. "Then I will carry you." he said, picking him up bridal style with fair ease.

Wrapping his arms around Zim's neck, Dib merely smiled up at him. "Alright...I'll try not to puke on you either then..." he smiled teasingly at him, his smile weak however.

Nuzzling Dib affectionately, Zim began carrying Dib in the direction of his medical bay. "I'll make this as quick and painless as possible, okay, Dib...?" he said softly to the other.

Nodding his head as Zim carried him into another room and placed him down onto a table in the room, Dib slowly brought up his legs to lay himself out on it. "Okay..." he trusted Zim as he closed his eyes once he had been set down, as though to sleep.

Smiling sadly at Dib, Zim reached out a hand to stroke his hair gently. "I do hope nothing is wrong with you...COMPUTER!" he then raised his voice to the ceiling.

"WHAAAT?" the computer groaned out in an annoyed voice.

Blinking his eyes open once at all the yelling, Dib then closed them again, starting to fall asleep on the other.

Zim glared at the ceiling. "Do a full body scan on Dib, and let me know what's wrong with him." he figured that if his computer couldn't tell him, then nobody else would be able to.

"FIIINE!" the computer groaned again before beginning a scan on Dib, who was trying not to fall asleep there on the table. It wasn't until about 30 seconds or so later that it announced it had finished its scan and should be done analyzing the data in about 3 minutes.

Lifting his head slightly when he heard that the scan was finished, Dib then sat himself up slowly, rubbing one of his eyes. "Can I go lay down while you're waiting for the results? I'm fading fast..." he asked Zim, thinking that in another 3 minutes he'd be out cold asleep again.

Nodding his head, Zim went ahead and picked Dib up from the table. "Here. I'll carry you to bed." he said, nuzzling him as he left the room to go lay Dib down and cover him up so he could sleep. Then, returning to the room to retrieve the results, Zim directed his attention back up to the ceiling again. "So, what's wrong with my Dib?" he asked, arms crossed about his chest.

"Scans indicate no viral or bacterial diseases present in the subject's body. However, there does seem to be a growth of some sort, three actually, forming in the area right below his lower stomach." the computer informed him of the information it had gathered from the scan on Dib's body.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. That enough info for you guys to base your conclusions on? XD Anyways, remember that NGD and I do NOT want to receive any negative reviews should you decide you hate where we're taking said, let me now respond to those of you reviewed last chapter. =3

To lilybean queen of the i ocean: Lol. XD Back to that again, are we? Well, we're glad to hear it. As always. =3

To Dlbn: Indeed. =3 And here's another one. Anyways, yes, we do torment poor Dibbles oh so much in this story. And personally, I couldn't resist throwing in the dodgeball to do the job in that last chapter. XD Here's your next update though. We hope you enjoy. 8D

To Mrs Inuyasha Kagome: Oh, yes. It was quite horrible what happened in Japan. D8 I hope that your home island wasn't too horribly damaged as well and will keep that in my prayers. Before I leave you with this new chapter, however, can I please request you do something? I can see you're using an icon here on FF that was made for this story by my friend Sassafrass002. Can you please give her credit for the artwork in your profile? ^^ I'm not saying you stole it or anything, but we have dealt with LOTS of art thieves when if comes to that particular picture. I'd just like to get the word out there of who the ACTUAL artist is so people will stop stealing it and claiming it as their own. We've not only had people steal it but alter the work on top of that. So please. Can you mention that in your profile? She took the picture down for a reason and I'm just trying to protect it anywhere else that is still remains. After all, it was intended as gift art for myself and NGD for this story. So I'm kind of protective of the art Sassafrass002 does for our story. Thank you.

To GRT33H33: Well, welcome back then. XD We're glad to hear from you again. =3 I think this last chapter speaks for itself why we expect to lose people. XD So hopefully we don't lose you as a reader over this. But if we do, at least it was nice while it lasted. =3 Anyways, if you'd like to continue reading and posting reviews after reading this chapter, please keep in mind that I'm about to block anonymous reviews to cut back on trolling. So please make an account if you'd like to continue talking with us. =3

To heartofstone15: Lol. XD Well, I don't have to memorize it. Just about every site with minors on it includes that statement in their Terms of Service. I WISH FF would just offer the option of putting up a filter for such material, but alas, they do not. As for the 39th chapter, I believe it speaks for itself, don't you? XD

To ZahvayTheFallen: Well, hello there, new reviewer. So nice of you to join us. =3 I'm sorry for the suspense, but this story is only updated weekly for a reason. The fanart is kind of a giveaway, but still, that is only up to a certain point. There's still much about this story that fanart hasn't been made for. Perhaps you'll be the first to create fanart for some of those scenes, if I'm correct in assuming you were going to make us some. =3 For the record, we DO have a fanart contest in progess. So do feel free to enter if you'd like. ^^ We're glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much so far. Though don't read through it too quickly. It's a lot to take in. Trust me, there's plenty of time to take things slowly and just enjoy it. =3 After all, we don't want you forgetting the beginning by the time you catch up. XD

To xxBrokenHeartxx: Fuck off, Lilac. I know that's you under a different username. I've already told you I want nothing more to do with you so just fuck off, get a life, and quit trolling me on EVERY FUCKING SITE!

To thegreatandmightySANDRIA: Lol. XD Well, I'm glad you sent this in before I posted today's chapter because I'm disabling anonymous reviews from being sent after this point. I'm sorry for the inconvenience of that, but it's to prevent trolls on here. (Really only one who hates both myself and NGD, but still. _) Anyways, yesh! Teh TAGR be sexy indeed! XD And in my eyes, if there had to be a seme, I'd also agree that Tak would be the seme. But in general, I tend to think of neither being seme or uke. They just take turns, which is kind of what I do with a LOT of other pairings too. Despite thinking this way, however, surprisingly enough, I actually think Gaz comes off as more a seme in this particular story. You'll see why later on. But for now, you can think of it as either seme Tak or equal ground. NGD and I never actually specifiy in this story. XD As for poor Dibble's tummy, I know you've already read ahead. So I don't have to worry about losing you over this chapter. XD We appreciate your love for us and express equal love back towards you for being such an awesome reviewer. *Huggle* As for your story, I'll have to wait until after I'm on break to actually read it. But I'll give it a look when I get the chance. Tell me, is it an original, ORIGINAL story? (ie. not associated with some fandom?) If so, I'd be happy to also give you feedback on it and how you may improve it. =3 I love analyzing original stories. Fanfiction kind of falls into a different category though. As always, we look forward to hearing back from you again soon. And hopefully I'll even find the time to speak with you over the weekend. =3 You know, if you're not attending InvaderCon already. XD


	39. Chapter 40

A/N: Ugh...Been such a long time since I last updated this story. Sorry about that, you guys. Been quite busy these past few weeks of school. In fact, I still am. But before I return to my homework for the day, how about an update? 8D Chapter 40 of ZADR Orange for those of you who have been waiting oh so patiently. =3 Thank you for not sending in any flames this week, you guys. We really appreciate that. And also, for the record, NGD would like to start answering back to some of your guys' reviews. 8D So if any of you would like to ask her anything, I'm going to start sending her reviews to respond to. That's not to say I won't be answering reviews as well. We're going to try and split them up between each other. So you guys can look forward to speaking with somebody other than just me all the time. XD That said, let me now thank those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And as always, feedback be much appreciated. So we hope you all enjoy. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Computer: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Zim froze at his computer's words. "Wh-What?" the word escaped him, his eyes wide before he glared up at the computer. "What growths? Show me the scans!" he demanded, pointing one finger at the ground in front of him.

"Fiiine...You know, you could learn to say 'please' every once in a while..." the computer said in a slightly irritated voice, especially considering it was getting yelled at despite doing what Zim had asked him to do. Bringing up the scans nonetheless however, it displayed for Zim a full body scan of Dib that revealed three unknown, egg-shaped forms in the lower half of Dib's abdomen.

Paling at the sight of them, Zim instantly began playing around with his fingers nervously. "B-But...No! Th-That can't be what I think it is...C-Can it?" he asked, looking up at the computer worried and swallowing. "D-Does he have cancer?" he then asked, unsure which of his two thoughts would be worse.

"No...My scans indicate that he is not suffering from any fatal or trivial diseases. In fact, from the information I gathered on the subject, he seems to be perfectly healthy. The growths in his abdomen don't seem to be causing any health problems." the computer informed him.

Not wanting to say his other idea out loud, Zim swallowed again. "H-He couldn't be...p-pregnant...could he?" his words came out strained.

"Because his anatomy is different from any other life form I've ever scanned, it's hard to say, though his symptoms do seem to match those of one who is pregnant. I'd say there's an 88% chance that's a possibility considering that romp under the covers you two had about 2 months ago. Also, were that the case, it would seem he is as far along as somebody who would have gotten pregnant around that time." the computer continued, telling the other what he didn't want to hear.

Paling even more, Zim couldn't deny the fact any longer. "S-So he is then...I-I can't let this happen! I...I should get rid of them..." he said, rubbing his hands up and down his upper arms, looking worried and unsure.

"Eliminating them would require removing them from the inner wall of his internal reproductive organ and may cause a bit of discomfort, but some painkillers could be used to take care of that." the computer offered him the simplest solution to the problem.

Nodding his head at his computer's words, Zim paced the floor a few times silently before leaving the room. "..." Then, walking into the room where Dib was sleeping, he stopped to watch him for a moment, still remaining silent. "..." It would be easy enough. He could even do it now. But something seemed to be preventing him as he swallowed nervously, unsure of what he was going to do. "I...I don't want to kill them..." he finally spoke for the first time since he had left the lab, looking away ashamed that he had even considered doing such a thing to them.

"Hmmm? You do realize that if you don't, he's going to find out about them sooner or later, right?" the computer reminded him.

Zim could only shake his head at that. "I-I'll just have to tell him then...B-But...I can't do it..." he looked up at the ceiling, watery-eyed. "I can't kill them before they've even started a life..." he said, not about to sink that low.

Sighing, the computer merely gave in, knowing Zim's mind wouldn't be changed now that it was set. "Whatever you say...But I highly doubt he'll take the news all too well." it warned him.

Shaking a bit now, Zim swallowed nervously yet again. "Th-Then...I won't tell him right away..." he wanted to come up with a way to tell Dib first before revealing the news to him.

"How do you plan on doing that? The smeets seem to be in eggs now, but I'm certain he'll notice something must be up when he begins gaining weight." the computer seemed to burst his bubble.

Paling even more, Zim felt his legs weaken in that moment. "I-I'll cross that bridge when I get to it...Until then...I FORBID YOU to tell him what is really going on. J-Just tell him he still has digestion problem!" he glared back up at the ceiling before rubbing his arms and shaking all over. "I'll tell him...B-But...I'll just be sure to have him eat more then usual so he just thinks he's getting fat or something until then...But...I can't let him find out yet..." he said to himself, secretly afraid that Dib would want to destroy the smeets before they were even born.

"Fine...But you do know that you'll be screwed if he somehow finds out about it before then, right?" the computer replied, agreeing not to say anything to Dib about it.

Looking away from the ceiling, Zim quietly crept up to the bed to lay down next to Dib. "I know..." he breathed out shakily before closing his eyes to sleep.

For the next few hours, both Zim and Dib continued to sleep fairly peacefully, Dib shifting in his sleep and slinging one arm over Zim's chest before blinking his eyes open slowly to find the Irken laying next to him in the bed. "Hmmm? Zim?" he blinked his eyes open even more before smiling at the alien pressed close to him. Leaning in close to press a kiss to the sleeping Irken's forehead, he then brought up a hand to gently stroke back one of his antennas.

Purring a little at the touch, Zim responded by curling up closer to Dib.

Giggling a bit at this, Dib allowed Zim to curl himself around him comfortably. "Mmmm...Zim..." he murmured the others name quietly as his eyes slipped back closed to sleep some more, still feeling fairly worn out from earlier that morning. Then, yawning to himself, he went ahead and rested his head against the Irken's chest comfortably.

Eyes opening a smidge at the sound of his name, Zim merely closed them again, succumbing to the warmth of Dib against him.

After a few more hours of sleeping, Dib finally began to wake back up yet again, though this time more fully. Sitting up in the bed slowly, he then rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before having a look around the room. "Z-Zim?" he asked again, finding that the Irken had buried himself underneath the blankets.

"Mmm..." Zim sounded out before snoring quietly.

Rather than disturbing the Irken this time around, Dib merely sighed before pushing himself up out of bed to head on down the small hallway towards the bathroom, feeling rather sore from spending the past few days in bed. Making his way over towards the bathtub, he then turned on the water, waiting for it to heat up before stripping down and stepping into the warm relief, the liquidy warmth soothing to his aching body.

Not noticing that Dib had left him, Zim merely continued to sleep on however, sighing out contently.

Laying back in the tub to stare up at the ceiling, Dib let his eyes wander for a minute or two before finally resting them back on his stomach. "Hmmm...Maybe I've just been eating too much lately..." he said to himself, poking the slight bulge in his stomach. "Perhaps I should put myself on a diet from now on. That might help settle my stomach somewhat. Especially considering the majority of things Zim gives me to eat here is junk food." he considered what he could do to help his digestion now that he was feeling better.

Scoffing at Dib's words, the computer spoke up, more to itself, successfully interrupting Dib's train of thought. "Oh yeah. That'll help." had it eyes, it would have rolled them.

Jumping a bit at the computer's voice ringing throughout the room suddenly, Dib tilted his head back to stare up at the ceiling from where the voice had come from. "Wh-What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, thinking that the computer was just making fun of him.

"OH, nothing." the computer responded back, seeming to be holding back laughter.

Glaring up at the ceiling suspiciously, Dib could only sit up in the tub straighter now. "What's so funny? What are you hiding from me? Huh?" he demanded, wanting to know what could possibly be so goddamn funny about going on a diet.

"No, no." the computer continued to insist it wasn't hiding anything, though the snerk gave him away. "I'm hiding nothing." it refused to tell Dib, enjoying the hybrid's reaction far more than anything else.

Narrowing his eyes even more, Dib fisted his hands in the water. "Then what the hell are you laughing at?" he said yet again, finding himself only getting more and more frustrated with the computer.

Loving the way it was so easily riling Dib up, the computer merely burst out laughing at him. "N-Nothing!" it said between laughter, knowing Dib couldn't do anything to him for not telling.

"Liar!" Dib pointed accusingly at the ceiling, getting upset now. Then, standing up abruptly from his spot in the tub, he grabbed himself a towel and stalked back out of the bathroom with his clothes in hand and antennae pressed all the way back against his head. His face flushed a bright red, he stormed his way back into the bedroom to drop his clothes into the laundry chute before pulling out a clean pair of pajamas to climb into.

But the computer's voice seemed to follow him, laughing again. "You know I'm everywhere, right?" it reminded him teasingly.

Turning around in his spot, Dib yelled up at the ceiling. "Shut up! Yes, I know you're everywhere! So just leave me alone!" he glared daggers up at the ceiling, becoming more and more upset by the minute that the computer wouldn't just leave him alone.

"Wh-What's wrong, Dib?" Zim suddenly seemed to be roused from his slumber at all the yelling.

Sniffling and wiping at his eyes as he for some reason couldn't help but start breaking down now, Dib turned back to face Zim angrily. "Your computer is just such an ass!" he yelled at Zim before breaking down even more, his antennae then drooping and shivering.

Sliding out of bed when Dib began crying and walking over to comfort him, Zim wrapped his arms around the hybrid warmly. "Oh, Dib...It's okay. He's an ass to everyone." he said before nuzzling his neck, kissing across his jawline. "What did he do to you? I'll show him what for." he then shot the ceiling a glare.

Trying to calm himself down enough to speak again, Dib let Zim pull him close for comfort. "He...He just won't stop picking on me all the time! No matter what I say or do, he's there with some sort of negative comment, and it always ends with me being upset and him laughing at me because of it! I can't take it anymore! It's like he's TRYING to make me feel unwelcome here!" he exclaimed, bringing up his hands to try and wipe more tears out of his eyes.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Yep. Teh computer is just as much an ass to Dib as everybody else is in this story is. XD Anyways, we hope guys enjoyed. And with that said, let me now respond to those of you reviewed last chapter. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Oh, yes. I am too. D8 But personally, I don't take shit from ANYONE. So if that bitch was going to try and troll us here on our ZADR Orange story too, I wasn't about to sit back and let her get away with it. She's already done enough of it over on DA. I don't know what the fuck her problem is coming on here and trying to start something again. She denied that she had done anything but neither NGD and I are stupid. I've been on FF for YEARS now and never had a troll until the situation with her arose over on DA. So I KNOW it was her. Also, she's trolled with the same "..." comment to us in the past on DA. Trying to pretend like she's another user by making up a random username is just stupid and deceitful. Then she tries to accuse me of not dropping the situation when SHE'S the one who's been keeping it going this entire time. Seriously. She needs to grow up and get a life outside of trolling and annoying other people. No wonder she has no real friends. But anyways, as for your story, sure I'll take a look at it. =3 I'm sorry I haven't yet. Been so busy with school. But once I find the time, I'll definitely see if I can give it a deep analysis for you. ^^ As for the fanart contest, I already sent you the information on it. And also, if you'd like, you can now join our ZADR Orange DA group to keep up with updates on the story, ask questions, and even look at some of the other entries. Just check under the groups I manage on my DA profile and you should be able to find it. =3 NGD just got it running this past weekend. I think you'd enjoy it and also, it's where we encourage you guys to post your entries for the contest. =3 As for Gir, we're now considering adding a GirxMimi portion to the story but haven't actually acted upon that consideration just yet. So we'll let you know if we decide to give him a slightly bigger role later in the story. As things stand now, however, we've put the story on pause to get updates up a little faster. We're closer to our ending than we though. So we're brainstorming more ideas to keep the RP going. This will allow people more time for the fanart contest as well as more ideas to base images off of. I do encourage you to check out the latest blog on our DA group. =3 You can ask more questions there as well. NGD and I opened ourselves up for questions that we'll be answering when we either get 20 questions or when an entire week has passed, whichever comes first. I thought you might appreciate that given you ask the most questions on here. Also, we'll be celebrating the 100th chapter this Saturday if you'd like to join us on DA. ^^ Lol. XD Oh, yes. OH SO MODEST! XD But definitely loyal. Thanks as always and we look forward to hearing back from you soon. =3 (Huggles)

To kc1995: Well, hello, GRT33H33. XD Thank you for taking the time to make an account. =3 As for whether you've got that last chapter figured out or not, I think this week's chapter will clear up any remaining doubts about what's going on in this story. XD

To heartofstone15: Meh. (Shrug) Oh well. It doesn't really matter. I understand their reasoning for it so I won't complain. It's not as though sex makes up the entire story anyhow. We can just edit those scenes out and still have a well put together story in the end. =3 But anyways. Yes. That be the reason people start to hate on this story. They can't handle the MPreg. But personally, I think we pull it off rather believably in this story. If Dib didn't have an altered anatomy then I wouldn't support it. But because he does, we just had to jump on the opportunity. As for the fanart contest, I already sent you the info. Though, since you say you've gone ahead and made yourself a DA account, I should let you know we now have a DA group for our story, which is where you can submit entries and look at some of the other entries. =3 So that might be something you'd like to check out when you get the chance. ^^

To Dlbn: Lol. XD Oh yes. We do tend to end on quite a lot of cliffhangers when it comes to this story. But that's because of how I measure out chapters. =3 Just trying to keep them all relatively the same length. But anyways. I think today's chapter will clear up any doubts in your mind of what those "three little growths" might be. XD And you'll at least get to see Zim's reaction for now. =3 Dibbles' you'll have to wait a little while longer for though. XD

To Mrs Inuyasha Kagome: Thank you for doing that for us. =3 We really appreciate it. Sassafrass002 is one of my best online friends so I'm always looking out for her when it comes to her art. ^^ Because she's such a great artist and it's such a tragedy whenever somebody tries to claim her work as their own. And I'm glad to hear you're doing well in Hawaii. =3 I have a few friends out there as well so it's nice to know everybody is safe. =3 We had a bit of damage where I live as well but nothing major. ^^ Just a few damaged boats. And also no school along the coast where we lived. =3 Though I didn't have school anyways. XD I don't have classes on Fridays. So my friend and I just drove around and goofed off all day. Lol. XD

To lilybean queen of the i ocean: Glad to hear it. XD

To Dadles (Response courtesy of Notgonnadie): Hey,HEY! You want some kindness? Take down that crap on your profile! For starters, Patthekitsune and I BOTH write ZaDr Orange. Not just her, not just me! And I've seen the crap you've said to her. Let me tell you, Pat is the NICE one of the two of us. I swear, you upset her and you and I are going to have a little word of prayer.

ZO is an edited fiction with many pieces taken out so that it may be placed here on Fanfiction. If you have such an issue with it then stop reading! The reply button isn't there so you can flame people. You leave another one and you will regret it.

If you want anyone to yell at about the almost deaths in this story then talk to me! I'm the one who plays Zim! I'm the one who tries to kill him so often! Not Pat. So leave her alone!

Don't worry, little troll. It all goes downhill from here. ;)

To Klara2012zimdib: Well, hello there, new reviewer. So nice of you to join us. =3 Yes, we made Dib pregnant. But that's because he has an altered anatomy in this story. We thank you for the kind comment and will definitely continue posting each week. But about your suggestion, the answer is no. For the record, the A/N's are included at the beginning and end of each chapter for a reason. We want to keep our reader's updated on important events as they happen. I'm sorry if you consider that an annoyance or whatever, but we don't post them to be ignored. And I will not alter the way I post this or future stories. My A/N's are an important aspect to each chapter. And when I have nothing important to say, I at least try to keep them short. So please don't request I remove them. Because they ARE posted for a reason. As for the rest of the story, there's still much to come. So we hope you'll continue reading as we update each week. =3

To panda night19: Hello and welcome, new reviewer. We thank you for taking the time to join us and leave a review on our story. =3 We're glad to hear you're enjoying our story and indeed, Zimmeh won't be telling Dibbles anything for at least another 5 chapters or so. XD But don't worry. The truth is bound to be revealed at some point. Thank you for taking the time to read and we hope to hear from you again soon. =3


	40. Chapter 41

A/N: Ah...Responding to you guys seems so much easier now that I've got NGD helping. 8D Or perhaps we just didn't get a lot of reviews this week. XD Either way, it's nice that she's taking the time to respond to you guys also. So I hope you'll all be polite in answering her back. ^^ As for today's chapter, I don't believe I have much to say about it for this week. So why don't we just jump on into it already. =3 For those of you who were waiting oh so patiently, here be Chapter 41 of ZADR Orange. Much love goes to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And, as always, feedback be much appreciated. =3 So we hope you guys enjoy. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

His own antennae drooping at Dib's words, Zim could only pull his human hybrid closer to himself. "Ohh, Dib. He's just jealous cause I actually CARE about you." he said before glaring at the ceiling again. "AND HE BETTER CUT IT OUT!" he directed his words to his computer now as he pulled Dib closer and closed his eyes. "Would you like to go out for lunch or something? It might be nice to get away from unwanted company..." he offered, referring to his computer as he shot it yet another glare.

Cuddling up closer to Zim, Dib got comfortable against him before sighing out contently. "Maybe...Though I've been thinking that perhaps I may just be eating too much lately. It looks like I've gained a few pounds in the past month or so, so I'm considering putting myself on a diet for a while. I think that might help settle my stomach somewhat too. But I wouldn't mind getting out of the house for a while AND AWAY FROM YOUR COMPUTER." he raised his voice also, glaring up at the ceiling.

Eyes widening at the talk of weight gain, Zim swallowed nervously. "Uh...Why would you want to go on a diet? I think you're beautiful as is, and diets never work. Besides, what's the harm of a few extra pounds?" he smiled weakly at Dib, hugging him close. "You seem as skinny as always to me. Are you sure you're not just imagining it?" he asked, knowing Dib wasn't but not wanting him to realize that.

Blinking somewhat confused eyes at Zim, Dib looked back down at his stomach and lifted his shirt slightly to take a closer look again. "No...I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining that I gained a few extra pounds." he said before lowering his shirt back down. "And I know you'll think I look good no matter how much weight I gain, but I still want to go on a diet. I've been eating a lot of junk food lately and just think it would be better for me if I tried eating some healthier foods. Besides, a few extra pounds may not be harmful, but losing them wouldn't be harmful either." he turned the tables on Zim yet again.

Biting his knuckles as he thought it over, Zim nodded his head slowly. "Hmm...I suppose eating more healthy foods would be a good idea..." he looked up once he had decided. "Well then. Let's get dressed and get a nice healthy meal." he smiled at Dib again, thinking that eating healthy didn't necessarily mean eating less.

Smiling back at Zim, Dib nodded his own head. "Alright then!" he said enthusiastically, pulling up his bag to search through it for a clean pair of clothes to wear out, changing out of his pajamas for the time being. "Well, my nausea's at least gone for now. So I guess we can head to the store and pick up those things I wanted to get." he reminded Zim of his earlier plans.

Getting dressed in a fresh pair of clothes as well, Zim nodded his head back at the other. "Sure. If you want." he then glanced at Dib's stuff. 'Hmm...We should probably get him some new clothes too...But I'll wait until he's gotten a little bit bigger...' he thought to himself before turning away and sighing, feeling very dirty and underhanded for keeping this all from Dib.

Pulling on his last pair of clean clothing besides his pajamas, Dib then turned to face Zim as the other finished getting dressed himself, smile falling away a bit at the somewhat guilty look on Zim's face. "Hey, are you okay? You look a little...uneasy. Is something bothering you?" he asked, sending the Irken a curious look.

Shaking his head quickly, Zim plastered a smile across his face again before turning to face Dib. "No, no! I'm fine! I was just worried about you is all." he smiled a little more sincerely now. "So, where would you like to go? Or do you just wanna look around?" he asked, willing to do whatever it was Dib wanted to do.

Dib merely shrugged, however. "Look around, I guess. This is the first time I've ever had to consider putting myself on a diet. I mean, up until now, I've always considered myself to be pretty skinny and in control of my weight. But I guess rather than thinking I have control over it, it would be best I take a few extra measures just to make sure of it. I mean, I don't want to be one of those people who think they still have control over it when they really don't. So maybe somewhere I can get a salad or a sandwich would be best." he just threw out a random idea.

Mind still spinning from Dib's roundabout logic, Zim merely nodded his head in response. "Well, after you." he stepped aside and gestured towards the door, smiling at Dib.

Smiling back at Zim, Dib exited the room and headed straight for the elevator, Zim following close behind him. "I guess we could find a small cafe or something somewhere. They usually have pre-made sandwiches. And I can pick up ingredients for a salad for later at the store. Is there anything in particular that you wanted though? I don't want to make you suffer by eating healthy with me if you don't want to. After all, you're as skinny as a twig already." he smiled, poking some fun at Zim.

Chuckling in response to that, Zim could only shake his head a bit. "Most Irkens are. You probably just have enough human in you to get pudgy at most...Hmm...Well, as long as you don't try to feed me meat or beans, I think I could 'suffer it.'" he snickered into one hand, wrapping an arm around Dib as the lift went up.

"I know not to feed you meat and beans. Those aren't even really diet foods. But really, I don't want to make you eat anything you don't want to eat. So feel free to get whatever you like. I'm not a particularly picky eater to begin with. I'm not going to miss eating junk food all the time, especially if it's what's making me sick in the first place. I'll probably even feel better puking up something other than chips and doughnuts." Dib shuddered at the thought of what he had been bringing up the past couple of weeks. "Though I'm hoping that by switching my diet over to something healthier I won't be puking anything up." he said, really wanting to figure out some way to prevent him from getting sick in the morning.

"Well, we'll see. It might take a little while to take effect, but that will probably fix you up." Zim smiled, kissing Dib. "And if you can do it then I can try to as well." he didn't want the hybrid to be going through this alone. That's when the elevator dinged, letting them out on the main floor.

Smiling at the kiss, Dib blushed a light pink. "So I take it your computer didn't find anything wrong with me aside from indigestion?" he said, smirking at the other before poking him in the side playfully as they headed out of the elevator and towards the front door to take a walk into the city in search of a place to eat. "Figures, I guess. I doubted it would find anything anyways." he said, walking on ahead of Zim.

Blushing at Dib's words, Zim stopped for a moment to look away. "Yeah...But I just wanted to make sure you were okay." he said before trying to keep pace beside Dib so he wouldn't have to let go of the boy.

Stopping in his tracks, Dib turned to face Zim, pulling him close to nuzzle affectionately. "Thanks for taking such good care of me..." he then whispered into Zim's antennae before pressing a kiss to one of them and then the other. "You forgot your disguise again though..." he smirked before leaning in to kiss his lips, smiling against them amused.

Shaking his head and pulling away slightly, Zim merely waved those words away. "Like I've said before. No one will notice me, Dib." he said before leaning back in to kiss him back, running his tongue up to one of Dib's antennas and stroking the other with one of his free hands. "They never notice what's right in front of them." he then breathed against the antenna in his mouth.

Eyelids fluttering closed, Dib shuddered at the feel of Zim's tongue running up his antenna. "Mmm...You never know...Not every human on this planet is stupid, you know..." he murmured as he just seemed to melt against the other, finding Zim's chest and hiding away in it, purring contently. "So just...wear it for me...okay?" he purred, tilting his head back to lick at Zim's bottom lip really quickly.

Sighing at the lick to his lips, Zim then pulled back to smile at Dib warmly. "If you insist." he pulled an arm away from Dib to rummage through his PAK in search of it as they walked, pulling out his wig a few moments later. "But I'm not wearing those awful contacts." he pressed a finger to Dib's chest, drawing the line at wearing his wig.

Sighing also, Dib could only give in at those words. "Fine..." he pulled Zim back in to nuzzle him once the other had gotten his wig on. "But don't come crying to me if the government decides to abduct you for experimentation." he nudged the alien jokingly before pulling away when they had finally found a small cafe to eat at. "Now, come on. Let's get our food before it gets too late. Before too long, they won't even be serving lunch anymore." he said, opening the door to the cafe and standing back to allow Zim to enter first.

Rolling his eyes at the joke, Zim nonetheless followed Dib to the door, walking in first to have a look around the dimly lit cafe.

Following him inside, Dib went ahead and had a look around himself. Being that it was late in the afternoon, the place was fairly empty save for a few people sitting at tables and chatting, one or two of them reading a good book with a cup of coffee.

Dib located the refrigerated section and found himself a sandwich and drink. Zim, meanwhile, lingered over by the front counter, looking through what else they had. Approaching him from behind with his sandwich and a small carton of milk in hand, Dib then leaned in to see what he was looking at. "See anything you want?" he asked, looking through the glass to see a variety of sweet treats inside ranging from cookies to muffins to entire cakes.

Jumping a bit at the question, Zim blushed and looked away from the sweets. "I'll have whatever you're having." he insisted, not wanting to eat any of this stuff in front of Dib.

Sighing at that response, Dib could only shake his head at that. "Alright then." he then turned to address the person behind the counter. "I'll take these." he placed his items on the counter before looking back at the sweets. "And one of those chocolate chip muffins please." he pointed at one of the muffins in the front display before waiting for the employee working there to ring everything up and hand them back to him.

"Come on." Dib gestured for Zim to follow him over to one of the small tables in the corner once he had paid for their food. Taking a seat, he then pulled up his sandwich and carton of milk to eat before placing the chocolate chip muffin in front of Zim. "You're not having what I'm having. It has a little bit of meat in it." he said before unwrapping his sandwich to take a large bite of it. "Mmm...It's really not that bad though." he said, taking another bite and then a sip from his drink.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Mmmm...That made me hungry. I think I'll go grab dinner now. Until next time, you guys~ Oh, but before I leave, let me and NGD now respond to those of you reviewed last chapter. =3

To lilybean queen of the i ocean: We're really glad to hear it! ^^

To heartofstone15: Lol. XD Well, the group is called just Z-a-D-rOrange, though it would seem you've already found it. So I won't go into much detail here on how to find it. XD Feel free to join as a member though if you'd like. =3 We're looking to collect as many members as we possibly can. ^^ As for the rest of your review, NGD and I are going to be switching things up from now on. So I'll let her respond to the second half of your last review. =3

NGD: Heh heh XD Thanks. We couldn't get through a roleplay without some Mpreg drama, so I pitched the Dib as a hybrid idea and Pat loved it. Seeing as Irkens are hermaphrodites in this story, (except the females) we're making Dib go through all kinds of realistic pregnancy pains. BUWAHAHAHAHAH. And yes, we do one douchebag computer XD

To Illisandria Carthain: Lulz. XD Oh yesh! Teh smeebies have made themselves known to Zimmeh. XD Too bad he's too afraid to tell Dibbeh at first. XD Ah well. Dibbeh is bound to find out eventually. XD And as for the computer, the computer really is an ass. Though when you really think about it, just about EVERYBODY is an ass towards Dibbeh in this story. XD We're glad to hear you'll be joining our club and we look forward to seeing whatever art you draw for the story. 8D As for your question, once again, I'll be turning things over to NGD to answer. =3

NGD: *Snerk* *Snerk* You'll have to wait and see what happens~ BUWAHAHAHHA! XD Also the picture sounds like it'll be adorable XD

Thanks, as always, for reading and reviewing. Until next time~

To Mrs Inuyasha Kagome: Awwwz. XD Well, that kind of sucks. But at least it's better than attending school. =3 My friend and I just drove out of town to grab breakfast in the morning with her parents (whom we ran across on the road) then spent the rest of the day at her house watching Jack Chan Adventures. It was fun, tsunami warning aside.

To Dlbn: Lol. XD Your ball park may be a little closer than you think. XD But you'll see what I mean by that in later chapters. As for Zim's computer, it's a complete ass towards Dib. XD Of course, like most everybody else in this story, it finds amusement in tormenting him. Here's the next chapter, though you don't really get to see Dib's reaction until at least Chapter 45. As NGD puts it down below, it becomes a rather large mess. XD

NGD: Hehehe X3 Oh how we shall make a mess of this. BUWAHAHAHHA! ENTER NEW CHARACTER! (Shhhh...*Paranoid*)

Lol. Anways, hope you enjoy today's chapter and we look forward to hearing back from you soon. =3


	41. Chapter 42

A/N: Meh...I don't want to hear any shit in your guys' reviews about how late this chapter is. For the record, both NGD and I have been VERY busy with school this past month so please keep your comments about how late this is to yourselves. I already KNOW how late it is. I don't need to be reminded of that fact. As for future updates, I should have a better handle on them now that I'm for the most part on summer break. So yeah. You guys can look forward to faster updates now. On another note, we are quickly approaching the one year anneversary of when we first started posting this story here on FF. So I just want to thank you all for your dedication to both reading and reviewing this story. I know you've had to put up with a lot, given my slow ass updates, but I want to let you guys know that NGD and I REALLY appreciate those of you who have stuck it out and kept up with us over this past year. Once we reach our year anneversary here, I may even consider trying to update twice a week so you guys aren't kept waiting so long. But once again, this is given I find the time said, I'll shut up now and let you guys all get to reading Chapter 42 of ZADR Orange. Much love to those of you who have faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And, as always, feedback be much appreciated. So we hope you all enjoy. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Smiling sadly at Dib for his kindness, Zim could only blush a tiny bit at the small gesture. "You always look out for me..." he said before reaching forward to take the muffin and unwrap it so he could take a large bite of it.

Smiling back at him, Dib went ahead and returned to his own food after a moment or two. "It's the least I can do considering everything you've done for me." he said, taking another bite of his food, chewing on it, and then swallowing before washing it down with his drink. "And besides...I think I'll be feeling better tomorrow. This sandwich doesn't seem to be upsetting my system nearly as much as all that junk food you were feeding me." he shuddered a bit.

Mouth full of muffin, crumbles on his cheeks, Zim smiled happily up at Dib as he enjoyed his sweet treat.

Unable to help but laugh at Zim's cute face in that moment, Dib leaned himself forward a bit to lick off a few crumbs from Zim's face. "Mmmmm...You're delicious..." he said, pulling back and licking his lips before finishing the rest of his sandwich and then sipping at his milk.

Grinning back at Dib, his eyelids half lidded, Zim blushed. "Not half as delicious as you are." he then purred out, remembering that one night several weeks ago.

Blushing himself at that comment, Dib instantly took to playing with his fingers while shyly looking down at the table. "Well...I'm not so sure about that..." he looked back up at Zim. "I've noticed over the past couple of weeks that your skin is really sweet. It's not salty like a human's would be. It tastes almost like you bathe in sugar or something. Is that normal, or am I just imagining it?" he asked, slightly curious now about the Irken's body chemistry.

Shaking his head, Zim smiled to himself. "No, you're not imagining that. I eat a lot of sweets. You've probably noticed that already. But most Irkens do...I personally like the taste of salt. But I need sugar...It's like human's with protein...I need it to be healthy. Most of my body is made up of sugary substances...Like...Uhh...humans with water...I guess that is kind of what I'm saying...Uh...Yeah..." he rubbed the back of his neck, hating having to explain things as they normally came out odd.

Lifting one of his hands to stare down at curiously, Dib tilted his head slightly to one side. "Oh, I get it...I think...So does that mean I need lots of sugar in my diet too since I'm part Irken now? Or will I be okay laying off the sugar for a while? Cause even though I didn't used to crave sweet things back when I was still a human, I find myself craving them more and more now that I'm part Irken." he said, placing his hand back down on the table.

"Your human half should allow you to eat whatever you want, but it might be good if you slipped in a few sweets every once in a while." Zim said, sitting back in his chair again to continue eating his muffin.

Still staring down at his hand, Dib nodded his head. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I can sneak in a small dessert every other night from now on. It's kind of weird though. I never used to like all too many sweet things when I was human. I very rarely ever ate or drank anything sweet. But now, everything's different. Rather than salting my food, I almost feel like sprinkling sugar all over it. And I mean over everything. Not just the already sweet things." he said, looking back up at Zim.

Chuckling to himself at Dib's words, Zim nodded his head in acknowledgment of that. "Yeah...I know how you feel. It's never quite sweet enough..." he leaned back even more in his chair, licking his lips as he thought of some of the sweet things he had eaten in the past.

Nodding his head in agreement, Dib returned his gaze back down to his milk. "My mom used to eat a lot of sweets. She said that they were practically all she ate when she was pregnant with me. So she was surprised that after I was born I didn't like them as much." he laughed to himself. "She thinks maybe I just got sick of them after nine months of the stuff. And the same thing happened with Gaz too." he said, recalling that his sister wasn't all that into sweets either.

Choking on the bite of muffin that was still in his mouth, Zim gasped simultaneously at that bit of information, hacking and coughing in an attempt to dislodge the piece of food.

Eyes wide and antennae perked, Dib jolted in his seat slightly at the sudden outburst. "Zim?" he reached over a hand to pat his back and rub it up and down in a soothing manner. "A-Are you alright?" he asked, a bit shaken by the Irken's sudden choking.

Wheezing where he sat, Zim struggled to swallow down the chunk of muffin in his throat before responding. "Oh..." he gasped. "I'm fine." he then panted. "Just went down the wrong way is all." he laughed nervously. "Anyway." he cleared his throat before continuing. "Just to make sure you're still functioning correctly, when did you start craving sweets?" he asked, afraid of what Dib's answer would be.

"Hmm? Two, maybe three, weeks ago, I guess. B-But I don't see what that has to do with whether I'm functioning correctly or not. You said it was normal, right?" Dib pointed out, throwing Zim even more off guard.

Eyes wide, Zim had to try very hard not to choke again. "Yes! Of course it's normal!" he wheezed out, eyes watering up now as he grinned up at Dib. "I was just making sure...Uhhh...Check ups are good, you know!" he threw in really quickly to cover up his nervousness on the issue.

Just continuing to stare back at him confused, Dib could only send Zim a strange look for his sudden nervousness. "Umm...Yeah...I know that...I think you better take a drink before you choke to death, Zim." he said, passing him his milk to wash down the rest of what was stuck in his throat.

Accepting the milk, Zim quickly went to chug some of it down, successfully freeing himself of the lodged muffin in the back of his throat. "Thank you." he thanked the other once he had caught his breath again, passing him back the milk carton.

Nodding his head in acknowledgment of the other, Dib then reached forward a hand to brush his fingers across Zim's cheek. "You need to learn to eat a little bit slower otherwise you're going to end up killing yourself one of these days, and I wouldn't want that to happen to you." he then leaned in to kiss him on the lips before pulling away and bringing back his hand to rest in his lap.

Smiling warmly at the small caress, Zim let his eyes slip back closed. "Yeah...I know..." he sat there quietly for a little while before opening his eyes again to stare back at Dib. "Say umm...Dib...Do you still feel the same way about...umm..." he began to ask rather awkwardly, blushing as he looked away "Do you still feel the way you did on our way back to Earth about...Uhh...sex w-with me?" he continued in a quiet whisper.

Face seeming to flare up also at Zim's question, Dib instantly tensed. "Wow...Umm...Well...I don't really know...I haven't given it all that much thought, I guess...Hmm..." he seemed to give it some thought while nervously playing with his fingers again. "Well, I guess you could say it has in some ways since then...I still want to have it with you when the time is right, if that's what you mean." his antennas seemed to twitch as he said this.

Blushing an even brighter color, Zim looked away to the side. "A-And when do you think that time might be?" he asked, knowing it was bad to be getting this close to the subject but really needing to know. He knew he couldn't hide this secret from Dib forever.

Tensing just a bit more at the question, Dib shifted about in his seat nervously, feeling rather uncomfortable now but not wanting to disappoint Zim, who had been so patient with him up until now. "Well...I don't really know...Soon, I hope..." he said, his face flushing even more. "Maybe even in a few hours, if you want to give it a try and if I'm feeling well enough..." he tried to sound convincing despite how uncomfortable he was feeling about the subject.

Looking down at the table now, Zim's blush couldn't be any darker as he knew Dib was lying. "So...Not for a while then..." 'Great...This just got harder.' he thought to himself after saying that.

Eyes wide, Dib snapped his head up to look at Zim. "No! Really, Zim...I-If you want to give it a try tonight a-and see how far we get, I-I guess I wouldn't mind too much..." he said, cheeks a bright cherry red as he wanted more than anything for Zim not to be disappointed with him and think that he just didn't want to be with the other.

"No, Dib. It's okay. I'm not trying to rush you. I was just curious is all." Zim said calmly, refusing to look back up at him.

"I-It's not you, you know! I-It's me...A-And I don't know why I get so nervous about the subject...B-But I do...M-Maybe it's because I never thought about it up until a few months ago...I never considered what my first time would be like let alone whether I'd even have a first time...S-So I just want to make sure that if I'm going to do anything with anyone, i-it's going to be perfect." Dib tried to get his thoughts and feelings better across to Zim.

Feeling even worse now, Zim could only whisper quietly under his breath to himself. "Oh, it was perfect..." he sighed heavily. 'I wish he remembered what happened that night...But I can't tell him...He won't believe me if I tell him he asked for it...' he thought, unsure now how he was going to explain any of this to Dib.

Having just barely caught Zim's words, Dib's antennas twitched, causing him to tilt his head to the side a bit. "Hm? What was that? Wh-What was perfect? Z-Zim...I-Is there something you're not telling me? You've been acting strange all afternoon." he couldn't help but ask the other about his strange behavior lately, getting the feeling that Zim really WAS keeping something from him.

"N-Nothing! I'm not hiding anything from you! Why would I need to? It's not like I've done anything bad, right?" Zim suddenly became very defensive, breathing a little heavier then he meant to.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. Ohohoho...You're digging your own grave, Zim. But anyways. We hope the update was worth the wait, you guys. So until next time~ Now let NGD and I respond to those of you reviewed last chapter. =3

To Dlbn: Lol. XD Indeed. The computer has nobody else to take its anger out on. After all, Zim is its master and Gir is, well...GIR! It's no fun for the computer if it doesn't elicit SOME kind of reaction out of its victim. Dib just happens to be the most emotionally unstable at the moment. XD And it doesn't really believe Dib can do anything about it like Zim can. XD So Dib is the perfect target to take its frustrations out on. But then again, Zim might do something to the computer if it doesn't leave Dib alone. Because we all know Zimmeh will do whatever it takes to protect his Dibbeh. That's why they're so cute together. ^.^ We're glad you're enjoying our story so much and look forward to hearing back from you soon. =3 Thanks for reading and reviewing! 8D

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD Yes, more lies indeed. And many many more to come. XD As NGD puts it:

NGD: ZIM REFUSES TO GROW UP! 8D Oh, and yay! Names are good! Get yer entry in, man! As many as possible o3o We loooove entries.

And, yes. Three smeebies for Dibbeh. What fun we shall have with that. XD And it sounds like you're having fun with a new story. Hard to imagine Gaz as a slave though. XD She's too awesome to ever fall victim to the role of a slave. But I suppose so long as her capters are afraid of her, it's all good. XD For the sake of wrapping this response up, I'll let NGD finish by answering your question. =3

NGD: XD Well, PM comes back after much needed therapy for this bunch and you'll see Purple again in due time. XD

Much love to you as always for reviewing. So until next time~

To lilybean queen of the i ocean: Glad to hear it. XD

To heartofstone15: Lol. XD Well, whether your name is creative or not, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that you found the club and joined. =3 And sometimes it's good to stick with the same username. Makes you much easier to find in the long run. =3 As for your impatience, I can't say whether that's a good attribute or not, given how slow I can be when updating this story though. XD So I hope the wait didn't kill you too horribly much. School has been absolute hell for me this past month, as it has been for NGD. But oh well. At least it's for the most part over with now. As for the Irken hermaphrodite idea, you'll find soon enough that it's not only interesting but actually spices up Zim's and Dib's sex life quite a bit. XD And it definitely explains the lack of females in Irken society. Lol. Poor Dibbles is going to be taking the brunt of that fact in this story. But before I get too ahead of myself, I'll allow NGD to respond to the last of your review.

NGD: Hehehe XD Well, I pity you, poor dear. There's gonna be some rabbitting here soon despite the rarity of Irken births. XD I guess Zim is just defective in a good way. Along with someone else. Hurrr~

As for when Zim plans on telling Dibbles, you'll just have to wait to find out. Don't worry though, we're getting close to it. XD And of course Dibbles is gonna take it bad. It wouldn't be interesting if he didn't. XD I don't think even Zim would be able to hold it in for THAT long, though I'm sure he wishes to. But anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing, as always, and we look forward to hearing from you again soon. =3

To IrkenInvaderKat: Well, hello there, new reviewer. =3 So nice of you to join us. Let me be the first to welcome you as NGD is quite busy at the moment.I was going to ask her to respond to you but seeing as how I'm already late to posting this next chapter, I suppose I'll have her catch you next time, given you respond again. Anyways, we're glad to hear you're enjoying our story and we hope you didn't read through it too quickly. It is a LOT to take in all at once and there's still so much more to be written in this story. As for Dib becoming pregnant, that was kind of a given if you know NGD and I. XD We are both two writers who enjoy the MPregness in the IZ universe. But anyways, We're also glad to hear your friend is enjoying the story as well. We've been known to convert quite a few ZADR haters with this story. In fact, some ZADR haters are even afraid to read this story BECAUSE of that fact. But oh well. I guess we (or at least NGD) has that effect on some people. ^^ As for your review, it was just fine. =3 Not bad at all. We thank you for taking the time to read and review. And we hope to hear back from you again in the future. ^^


	42. Chapter 43

A/N: Alright. Let's try this again. Hopefully THIS will be the start of faster updates for this story. For the record though, NGD and I have a few important announcements to make about this story. First of all, to ANYBODY who may have been lying to us about liking this story, do NOT play fucking games with us! We don't CARE if any of you don't like the story! That's fine! But do NOT blatantly LIE to our faces about it! Do NOT say one thing to us then turn around and say the complete opposite to somebody else! It's EXTREMELY disrespectful! If you hate it, then just stop reading it! And don't fucking say we FORCED you to read or like it! Because we didn't! All we fucking ask for is honesty from you guys! Honesty and a little common sense! For the record, this isn't directed towards anyone who's been reviewing here on FF. This has to do with somebody on DA who was telling us she liked our story then turned around and told someone on FF she hated it. Seriously, that's just fucked up and we don't appreciate being lied to! Also, because of circumstances surrounding this issue, NGD and I have decided to END the fanart contest early. Sorry to anybody who didn't get in an entry earlier but we're just not dealing with this shit any longer. We already know who our winners are so we don't see any point in prolonging the contest. If you must blame somebody for the abrupt ending of this contest, feel free to PM either myself or NGD and we'll send you a link to the root of this conflict so you can see for yourself why we ended it. That said, let me now get to posting Chapter 43 of ZADR Orange for you all. As said already, this will hopefully be the start of faster updates. We want to get as many chapters up as possible over the summer. So hopefully you guys can look forward to that. =3 As always, we thank those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And feedback be much appreciated. So we hope you enjoy. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Tak/Gaz: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Dib couldn't help but send Zim an awkward look for the outburst, raising one eyebrow before shaking his head and sighing, his antennae drooping a bit. "No...Not that I know of, at least..." he said though he couldn't help but feel as though Zim were keeping something from him. "B-But you would tell me, right? If you had done something bad, I mean...E-Even if it had something to do with me and you thought I'd get mad?" he asked, not so sure Zim trusted him fully.

Looking away, Zim blushed. "I...would try to tell you...if there was something, that is..." he said before considering something else important about his current situation. "Uh...Hey, Dib...What do you think about kids? A-As in...Would you ever want to have any?" he asked, once again wandering into dangerous territory.

Seeming a bit taken aback by Zim's question, Dib could only blink confusedly at him now. "Kids? Do you mean like adoption or something? Or are you thinking more along the lines of using our DNA to clone something? Because I don't see how that would be possible unless one of us were female. I mean, I wouldn't mind having some if it were possible. Though I've never really given it all too much thought in the past. Why do you ask?" he wanted to know what the Irken was getting at.

A little relieved by that answer, Zim sighed out more calmly now. "Oh, I was just curious again, Dib." he said before smiling genuinely at Dib and taking the last bite of his muffin. "So, if it were possible...How many would you want in the end?" he then asked, already knowing how many they were GOING to end up having after all this was said and done.

Still seeming rather confused by all these questions, Dib absentmindedly began fiddling with the paper wrapper his sandwich had come in. "I-I don't know...two...maybe three...Why? How many would you want?" he asked, starting to think Zim was truly being serious about this topic.

Squeeing with delight, Zim clapped his hands together happily, eyes lighting up. "Three sounds just about perfect to me!" he exclaimed, smiling lovingly at Dib. 'Maybe this won't be so hard after all.' he then thought, trying to think more on the positive side so as to calm his nerves.

Frowning at Zim's reaction, Dib, however, could only send Zim a suspicious look. "What aren't you tell me, Zim? I just know you're hiding something from me, and I want to know what it is. Please..." he reached forward a hand to take Zim's. "Please tell me...No matter what it is...You have to know that I'll listen to you and that I could never get mad enough at you about anything to hate you if it's something bad...Please...I love you too much..." he begged the other to be honest with him, bringing Zim's hand up to his face to nuzzle a cheek to.

Swallowing thickly now, Zim looked at him unsure. 'Does he really mean that...?' he asked himself, really not sure HOW Dib would react to him telling him what happened.

"Zim...Even if you think I can't handle whatever it is you're keeping from me...think that it will ruin our relationship...You have to tell me what you're keeping secret from me...Because...I love you...And if you're not honest with me, I don't know how far we'll go in this relationship before crashing..." Dib knew it wouldn't hold together if it was built on lies.

"I-I...Uh..." Zim began, unable to bare looking at Dib. "I-I have to go get something!" he stood up abruptly from his seat, looking down at Dib a bit scared now. "I-I'll be right back! I promise...I just...I'll be right back!" he pulled his hand away from Dib to run out of the cafe, leaving one thoroughly confused Dib in his wake at the table.

Fleeing towards Tak's base, despite her wanting to kill him, he knew he needed help if he was going to confront Dib. He just didn't know how to go about it.

"What the-? But, Zim!" Dib found himself unable to complete his sentence as he merely stared after Zim with wide eyes, unsure of whether he should stay there or follow after the other.

Antennae drooping down low, he sighed, suddenly feeling horrible about being left there with no explanation. "I-Is he really that afraid to tell me whatever it is he's keeping from me?" he whispered to himself quietly.

Eyes watering up a little, Zim quickly blinked it away as he continued to run towards Tak's base. "No time for that..." he knew he had to make this quick as he finally arrived at Tak's base and approached the door cautiously. He gulped. "W-Well, here goes nothing..." he said before slowly knocking on the door.

Hearing the knock, Tak called out from another room in the base. "Can you get that, Gaz? And tell whoever it is that's at the door that we don't want whatever it is they're selling! I'm very busy with something right now!" she said irritably, not liking being disturbed when she was hard at work on something.

"Yeah...Yeah..." Gaz got up from her seat to approach the door, opening it just to glare at Zim. "What the hell do YOU want?" she asked, not all too surprised to see Zim standing there.

Shifting about in his spot at the door, Zim swallowed uneasily. "I...need help..." he bowed his head, knowing he needed to do this despite how uncomfortable it made him feel.

"What else is new?" Gaz went to shut the door on him.

"NO!" Zim stopped her, forcing the door open again.

Becoming distracted by all the commotion outside, Tak walked into the room to have a peek at who was at the door. "Gaz, who is i-?" she stopped short when she saw Zim at the door. "Oh, great...It's YOU. Have you finally realized that your life is pointless and come to let me do away with you? Or are you here for some other stupid reason?" she asked, not really caring either way.

"Some other stupid reason, naturally." Zim brushed off her words as though they were nothing before glaring at her. "I need your help...Uhh...Your advice, really..." he tried to think of the right words to explain all this.

Pulling up a chair, Tak leaned back in anticipation of whatever it was that Zim would feel the need to come to them for advice. "Well, this should be good..." she said in a mocking tone, reclining a bit. "Let me guess...Your little boyfriend broke up with you, didn't he?" she then smirked, snickering to herself. "Did he finally realize you're a complete loser and leave you to die and rot?" she asked, just poking fun at Zim now.

Antennae falling back, Zim glared hatefully at her. "NO!" he then looked away. "It's just...uhh..." he looked up again guiltily.

Not liking the look on his face, Gaz glared back at him. "What the hell did you do to my brother this time? If you didn't break up, then where is he exactly? You better not have done something to screw him over more than he already is." she narrowed her eyes on him threateningly.

Enjoying this all too much, Tak could only smirk even more. "Perhaps he found out about their little romp under the covers...Is that it, Zim?" she said his name in a teasing manner.

Her eyes widening at Tak's words, Gaz could only glare at him even more. "What?" she hadn't pieced together that that could possibly be the reason Zim was there.

Blushing at Tak's words, Zim looked away again. "No...At least not yet...B-But that's not the whole problem..." he knew it was the least of his problems at this point.

Grabbing him by the front of his uniform top, Gaz practically lifted him off the floor by his shirt. "Then what IS the problem?" she demanded through grit teeth. "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with why he's been getting sick at school, would it?" she had noticed Dib's more frequent trips to the bathroom, having even run into him a few times as he had been on his way.

To say the very least, Tak was enjoying herself as she sat back and watched with a satisfied smile.

A little scared of Dib's younger sibling still, Zim flinched at her words. "Well..." he wasn't sure how to say it. "H-He's...pregnant..." he finally settled with just forcing himself to blurt it out.

Trying to stay calm and not hit him in that moment since she didn't want to get on Dib's bad side anymore than she already was, Gaz merely tightened her grip even more on him before taking in a deep breath, her hands shaking with rage nonetheless.

"And are you planning on telling him this? Or am I going to have to march on right up to him and tell him myself? Because you know you can't keep this a secret from him forever! And if you wait too long to tell him, who knows what might happen! For all we know, the shock of the news might send him into labor early or something!" she seemed less surprised by this information than Zim thought she would be.

Flinching back some more, Zim tried to pull away from her somewhat. "I know I need to tell him...B-But...I don't want him to hate me...I just don't know what to do...That's why I came here..." he explained his reasoning for coming to them.

Still glaring, Gaz finally released him from her grip. "Do you care to explain to us HOW exactly it is that you two slept together without him knowing? Cause I'm pretty sure that's not just something you can do behind his back!" she wanted a better explanation than that.

Sighing now, Zim took to sitting down on the floor within the doorway. "The night Tak showed up, he came by my base freaking out. He had stressed himself out so much so soon after having been beaten up by you" he stopped to glare at Tak. "and running to the base, that he temporarily went into shock..." he began his long explanation of what had happened.

Remembering the night well, Tak smirked. "Go on." she insisted he continue.

"Well, I gave him some painkillers and carried him to bed...I was going to leave to get cleaned off because his senses were going haywire, and I was still covered in blood from earlier." he then glared at Gaz for that part. "But he freaked out when I tried to leave. So I stayed there...and then...Well...I don't feel like getting into the rest..." Zim looked away, blushing.

Laughing some more at this, Tak knew exactly what had happened after that point.

Ignoring her, Zim continued. "But when we woke up, he didn't remember anything...And I knew he would get mad if I told him...He'd think I raped him or something!...So I never told him...I thought what he didn't know...wouldn't hurt him..." he said the last three words slowly.

Arms crossed, Gaz could only narrow her eyes on him even more. "Well, apparently, you were wrong about that because now he's carrying a baby he doesn't even know about yet or he's ready to give birth to! Just what the fuck were you thinking changing his gender so that was possible when you were playing around with his DNA?" she demanded, figuring that was the only way any of this could even be possible.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 And Zim FINALLY tells somebody what's wrong. Unfortunately, that may only bring about even more trouble in the near future for him. XD But I'll just let you all read on from there. Let me just quickly respond to those who reviewed last chapter and hopefully the next chapter will be up in a few day. =3 So until then~

To IrkenInvaderKat: (Response courtesy of NGD): XD Well, we're glad you are enjoying the story. We hope the rest pleases.

To Dlbn: Lol. XD Isn't he though? X3 I just love my OOC Dibbeh. He's too cute for words. ^-^ And I especially love tormenting him in this story. XD Makes him cuter. XD We're glad to hear you're enjoying our Zim and Dib relationship in the story. And don't worry. XD Dib'll DEFINITELY get the truth out of Zim eventually. Hopefully we'll get to that chapter really soon. I'm fired up at the moment to work more on updates here. I want to try and update more often over the summer. So thanks for reading and reveiwing. =3 We really appreciate it. ^^

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Lol. XD We're very glad to hear that. ^^

To heartofstone15: Lol. XD Well, at least you're still keeping up with the story. =3 Even if we do keep you guys waiting every once in a while, you always seem ready to review our chapters when we DO get them up. So thank you for keeping up with us. =3 As for poor Dibbles, it really DOES suck to be him. We torment him and Zim SO much in this story. XD But we're glad to hear we're pleasing your sadistic side. XD Hopefully I'll get updates up much faster now so you can enjoy all the evil ways we plan on torturing them. XD Thanks for reading~


	43. Chapter 44

A/N: Heheheh...Bet you all thought I was lying when I said I was going to try and get these chapters out faster. But here I am, updating again. X3 And I may even think about updating another chapter sometime tomorrow too. =3 We'll see. But for now, let's focus on this here chapter. For those of you who were waiting oh so patiently for Chapter 44 of ZADR Orange, here it be. =3 Much love to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And as always, feedback be much appreciated. =3 So we hope you all enjoy. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Tak: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gaz/Teenage Girl/Computer: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Shaking his head violently, Zim brought up his hands to tug at his antennas harshly underneath his wig. "But I didn't change his gender! He's still male! I didn't do anything but change his species!" he exclaimed, not having been wanting to go into detail about the Irken anatomy with her.

Standing up now, Tak walked over to where Gaz was standing and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He's right, you know...There are no REAL male Irkens. There are too few females. There always have been. Because of that, the males had to adapt." she then shifted her gaze over to Zim and snickered at him, making him blush uncomfortably.

Turning her head to look at Tak, Gaz then addressed her about the matter. "So what? Are you saying that Irken males basically carry on the role of both males and females? I think that would have been something you might have wanted to warn my brother about BEFORE he decided to go through with this procedure." she turned her glare back on Zim again. "Exactly how well do you think he's going to hold up in childbirth? Especially considering he's only SIXTEEN in case you've forgotten!" she reminded him that her brother wasn't an adult yet.

"I-I thought him being half human would keep him from being like normal...And it's not like we really have to find out." Zim laughed uneasily. "Irkens lay eggs. It's not like he'll have to squeeze out three live children." he tried to make light of the situation, letting slip a little more information than he had meant to give out.

"Ahhh, so three of them? Hmm...Figures you'd end up with a small litter." Tak commented on his last few words.

"Zim...You better hope they're only eggs, cause if something happens that makes it so he has to give birth to three live babies, I will kick your ass and make you wish YOU had never been born. Despite what you may think, he's still half human, and humans give birth to LIVE CHILDREN." Gaz emphasized her last two words sharply.

Swallowing uncomfortably, Zim took a few steps back away from her. "S-So...I should tell him then...shouldn't I...?" he looked away, sighing. "He's going to hate me..." his antennae then drooped.

Sighing herself, Tak went ahead and took a step forward, helpful now seeing as how smeets were involved. "You know...There is a book store nearby." she said, having walked by it when checking out the neighborhood she had set her base up in.

"So?" Zim looked back up at her confused now.

Shaking her head, Tak forced herself not to face palm at that. "SO, you should go and buy some books about pregnant humans before you tell him, that way you two can be prepared." she said as though it were obvious.

Eyes wide, Zim seemed to give that idea some thought. "Th-That's actually a good idea...But wait...Why are you helping me?" he stared back at her suspiciously.

Returning to Gaz's side, Tak wrapped an arm around her. "Well, other then the fact that your boyfriend is my girlfriend's brother, naturally born smeets are rare nowadays...You've probably never noticed." she said, glaring at him. "So rare, in fact, it's now illegal to harm or separate expecting parents. So, it looks like you're safe for now..." she grumbled, knowing there was nothing she could do about it at this point.

"Consider yourself lucky...But remember, you're only safe until after my brother gives birth. Any time after that I'm free to beat the crap out of you if those babies come out live. And who knows what Dib will do to you after he finds out. And trust me, he'll find out. One way or another. I'll come by your base to check up on him in a few days. If you haven't told him by then, I'LL tell him myself." she warned him, narrowing her eyes on him.

Swallowing thickly, Zim nodded his head sheepishly. "I-I'll tell him..." he said, taking several steps backwards, away from Gaz.

"Now get to the book store and then get back to Dib. He's going to need his mate with him full time now." Tak instructed him, pointing in the direction of the book store.

Waiting for Zim to leave, not closing the door until he was all the way down the street, Gaz then turned to wrap her arms around Tak, needing that bit of comfort.

Meanwhile, back at the cafe, Dib had grown tired of waiting for Zim to return, so standing up and throwing away the wrappers that had come with their food, he then turned to leave the cafe and head on back to the base, fairly upset that Zim had just left him there and hadn't come back.

A load of pregnancy books in his arms, Zim stood in line impatiently at the register, knowing he had to get back to Dib soon. "Come ooon. Dib's probably given up waiting for me by now." he bounced up and down on his feet a bit.

Calling Zim up to her open register once the costumer in front of Zim left with their books, a teenage girl behind the counter began the task of ringing up his items. Blinking wide eyes at the pile of books he dropped in front of her, she then began looking over some of the titles of them before looking back at Zim. "Hey, kid. How old are you?" she asked, never stopping her work.

"Sixteen. Why?" Zim asked, in too much of a hurry to put up with this.

"Oh, no reason...Just not too often we get a kid your age in here buying these kinds of books. You get your girlfriend knocked up on your first try? You might want to use a condom in the future to prevent things like this." the teenage girl said, able to tell by the look on Zim's face that that's what had happened.

Looking away from her, Zim blushed deeply at her words. "I don't think that's any of your business. Besides, I don't HAVE a girlfriend." he stated, hoping that would end this conversation right then and there.

"Hmmm?" the teenage girl blinked at him confused. "You don't? Then what are all these books for?" she asked, pointing at them. "Are they for your ex maybe?" she considered why he could possibly be buying these if he didn't have a girlfriend currently.

Balling his hands into fists at his sides, Zim growled out lowly. "Listen here. I am not WITH nor have I ever BEEN with any girls! I like my boyfriend just FINE. So if you would be so kind as to keep your nose out of my business, I'd appreciate it and allow you to live another day." he said threateningly through grit teeth.

Merely rolling her eyes at his threat, thinking he was just joking about that, the teenage girl went ahead and began packing the books into a bag for him. "Hey, don't take it personally. I was just curious as to why you were buying so many books on pregnancy. By the way, in case you don't know, your boyfriend can't get pregnant. That's physically impossible. Anyways, that will be $60." she said, reading the price on the register.

Scoffing at that remark, Zim quickly handed her the money for the books before snatching the bag out of her hands and making his way towards the exit, speaking under his breath. "Shows what you know." he mumbled before making a break for the base.

Back at Zim's base, however, Dib walked through the front door and to the elevator, just wanting to lock himself in the bedroom to be left alone. "I can't believe he just left me there and didn't even bother to tell me where he was going..." he sighed, making his way over to the bed and flopping down onto his stomach, hugging a pillow to himself tightly. "And we didn't even get to go to the drug store..." he mumbled before closing his eyes and hiding his face away in the pillow.

Remembering at the last second to stop by the drug store but not knowing what to get, Zim grabbed every kind of over the counter painkiller he could afford and purchased them hurriedly before rushing home as fast as he could, arms full of pills and pregnancy books. So loaded down by them, however, he couldn't quite get the door open and so therefore resorted to kicking at it in an attempt to catch Dib's attention. "Diiib? Are you home? Let me in! My arms are full!" he called from his side of the door.

But being all the way down in the bedroom, Dib didn't hear Zim's cries from the front door as he had nearly drifted off to sleep by now, his breathing shaky from trying hard to hold back his sobs at being left behind by Zim.

Looking worried when he got no answer from Dib, Zim looked back the way he had come. Maybe Dib hadn't come home. But where could he have gone? "DIIIB!" he tried again, shouting louder and kicking harder. "DIIIB!" he was desperate now, not knowing where to put down his load of items so he could get the door.

"He can't hear you. He's down in the lab crying right now because you 'left him all alone' or something like that." the computer then spoke up, catching Zim's attention.

Flinching at his computer's words, Zim then looked away. "I-I said I'd be right back...COMPUTER! LET ME IN!" he demanded, needing to put down what he had in his arms to go and comfort Dib.

"Whatever..." the computer opened the door for Zim, letting him inside so he could put down what he was carrying in his arms before heading for the elevator. "I don't think he's going to let you see him. He's locked the door to the bedroom" it then informed him.

Shaking his head, Zim closed his eyes. "I don't care if I have to bang on the door until morning. I have to see him." he said, continuing his journey down into the lab where his bedroom was.

"Good luck with THAT method of getting him out of there." the computer scoffed, thinking it wouldn't be that easy to get Dib out.

Meanwhile, back in the bedroom, Dib whimpered into the pillow he was hugging to himself, sniffling wetly before stiffening upon hearing a loud knock from outside the bedroom door.

"Dib? Dib, please let me in! I'm sorry I was gone so long! I-I just had to do something first...I had to figure some things out..." Zim tried to coax Dib out of the room.

But Dib wouldn't listen, obviously upset with the other. "What couldn't you have figured out while sitting there with me? Were you really that afraid to tell me what's been bothering you? Even after I promised you that I couldn't ever hate you for anything you've ever done!" he exclaimed, in no mood to be discussing this with Zim right now.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 I think you all know what's coming next chapter. XD But until then, let us just quickly respond to those who reviewed last chapter. =3

To kikidon11 (Response courtesy NGD): "Glad you're enjoying the story XD And you'll have to wait and see."

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Glad to hear itt~

To Heather Valentine-Highwind: Well, hello there, new reviewer. =3 Allow me to be the first to welcome you. Do not worry. We shall most certainly continue to post. ^^ Can't say poor Zimmeh is gonna be in any better a situation with Dib as he is with Gaz. But you can rest assured, Gaz has no intentions of doing anything to cause him bodily harm...yet. XD Thanks again for reading and reviewing, and we hope to hear back from you again really soon. =3

To Noop237 (Response courtesy NGD): "Thanks. ^^ It means a lot that people are so supportive. We still can't believe what that brat did and continued to do, and attacking me in particular(They're terrified of Pat), with her friends when confronted about it. But that aside, it's nice to know you're enjoying the story."


	44. Chapter 45

A/N: Oh, look. I kept my word again. =3 ...Kind of...It's a little past midnight here, but here's that chapter I promised you guys on Sunday. ^^ Sorry for the lateness. My friend kidnapped me for a few hours. But by some miracle, I was still able to get myself to sit down and post this. So we hope you all enjoy Chapter 45 of ZADR Orange. =3 As always, we extend much love to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And remember, feedback be much appreciated. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Shaking his head at Dib's yelling, Zim's voice cracked a little when he went to speak again. "This is worse, Dib...Zim has done...bad...B-But...It wasn't intentional! I-I just...didn't know you wouldn't remember...A-And then...something...else happened...Please, just let me in!" the Irken tried again to get the door open.

"If it wasn't intentional, then why didn't you just tell me? How could you expect that I would be mad about something you did unintentionally?" Dib screamed at the other before falling silent again after a moment, making Zim think he wouldn't open the door.

After a few moments, however, he opened it, just a crack, to peek out at the disguised alien, tears running down his cheeks. "Why couldn't you just tell me...? If you did something that I for some reason don't remember, then why couldn't you just fill me in on exactly what happened...?" he asked in a broken voice.

Sniffing a bit himself, Zim dropped his gaze down to the ground. "I-I was afraid...You sounded like you were angry just thinking it was all a dream..." he said before looking back up at Dib, wondering if that was a big enough hint for Dib to piece things back together of what had happened.

"What are you talking about? Thinking what was a dre-?" Dib cut himself short, eyes suddenly widening is realization. "O-Oh my god..." he pulled away from the door, taking a few unsteady steps backwards. "Oh my god! Wh-What happened the night before I woke up naked that morning, Zim? I want the truth!" he screamed, obviously panicking now.

Not getting too close to Dib to keep his guard down, Zim slipped into the room cautiously as soon as he got the chance to. "We had sex, Dib...That's what happened. A-And...it WAS perfect..." he finally came out with it, beginning to tell Dib everything he had told Gaz and Tak about that night.

Completely frozen in his spot, Dib could only stare down at the ground with wide, disbelieving eyes. Once Zim had finished explaining everything, his only response was to shake his head. "N-No...No...H-How can that be possible if I don't remember it...?" he looked up at Zim with panicked eyes. "H-How could I have forgotten about something like that? I...I couldn't have! This must be some sort of bad dream!" he backed up away from him even more, holding his head now and shaking it even more, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

Eyes watering up, Zim could only watch Dib from his spot. "No, Dib. It happened...I-I knew you would get upset...I knew I should have told you...B-But I just didn't want to lose you..." he tried to make Dib understand where he was coming from in all of this.

His breathing shaking, Dib lifted his head to stare back at Zim. "If you didn't want to lose me, then why didn't you tell me earlier that all that happened? Why didn't you tell me when I first asked? You know how important honesty is to me in this relationship!" he yelled at the other before dropping his voice back down to a whisper, staring back down at the ground beneath him.

"I just want to know I can trust you..." he lifted his head again to stare at Zim, a more serious look on his face now. "Zim, if you're really serious about making this relationship work, then I want you to tell me everything now. Everything that happened and any other secrets you've been keeping from me. Please. I just need to know that there's still a chance we can work things out. But I can't work through anything with you until you've told me every last thing you've kept from me since that night." he said, needing some closure.

Swallowing thickly, Zim nodded his head. "D-Dib...I-I bought some things while I was out...I-I think you should look at them..." he didn't think he could just blurt it out after how Dib had reacted to telling him they had had sex.

Unable to help but feel slightly nervous by Zim's words, Dib paced back and forth a bit in a circle now, hugging himself and rubbing his arms up and down. "Wh-What kind of 'things'? he asked, narrowing his eyes on Zim, obviously upset with the other.

Rubbing one of his own arms nervously, Zim looked away. "Well, books mostly...J-Just come look..." he offered a hand to Dib.

Glaring back at Zim, not liking the fact that the other won't just give him a straight answer for once, Dib hesitantly reached out a hand to take the one being offered to him reluctantly. "I don't see what books have to do with any of this, Zim, so what you're showing me had better be good." he growled out irritably at the Irken.

His eyes watering up again at the tone of Dib's voice, Zim sighed to himself sadly. "I'm sorry..." he apologized quietly before leading Dib up to the living room.

Dropping his gaze back down to his feet, Dib allowed Zim to lead him to the elevator and then up to the living room before responding back in his own quiet voice. "I honestly don't know whether to believe you, Zim...My trust in you is shattered, and I don't know how long it will take to repair that damage... But I suppose we have to start somewhere, and the only place I can think to do that is right here, right now... So I suggest you don't lie to me from now on about anything else if you want to start fixing what you broke..." he said, the words 'I'm sorry' not enough to fix this situation.

A little scared by Dib's words, Zim stared down at the floor almost lifelessly. "Y-You promise you won't get mad when I tell you this? Please promise me you won't leave...I couldn't bear it if you did...And it's not like I really knew much longer then you did..." he begged the other not to end their relationship because of this.

"What do you mean you didn't 'know it much longer than I did?' What exactly are you trying to tell me, and how long have you been keeping it a secret from me? I can't make any promises unless I at least know that information. I can't promise that I won't get mad... Because whether I promise or not, you have to tell me what's going on...Otherwise, I won't have any other choice but to leave..." Dib sent Zim an all too serious look.

Knowing the boy was right, Zim nodded sadly. "I know I have to tell you..." he whispered, the elevator dinging as they got inside and headed on up to the main floor. "But honest. I only knew since this morning! I swear, I had no idea this could even happen! I-I mean...I did, but not to you! I-I thought...you know...you were human enough that it wouldn't..." he tried to explain that it had only been an accident he couldn't have foreseen ever happening.

"You thought I was human enough that WHAT wouldn't happen to me, Zim?" Dib demanded, looking rather panicky now as he grabbed Zim by the front of his uniform top. "Zim, what did you do to me? Does this have anything to do with why I've been so sick lately?" he asked, thinking the worst case scenario to be that he had contracted some alien sexually transmitted disease from the other.

"Dib...Please, just calm down, okay...?" Zim took both Dib's hands in his. "I have to show you...I don't think you're going to believe me if I just say it..." He lead Dib out of the elevator and towards the living room where the large stack of books and painkillers sat.

Doing his best to remain as calm as possible but failing miserably, Dib allowed Zim to sit him down on the couch next to the pile of books and pills. "Zim. Just tell me what's going on. Please." he pleaded with the other to just tell him, not wanting to have to figure it out on his own.

But, seeing as how Zim refused to just say what he had done to him, he, after a moment, reluctantly turned his head to look at the pile of books before reaching out a hand to pick one of them up and look it over closely, his eyes growing even wider at the content. He turned his somewhat horrified look back on Zim. "Z-Zim? Wh-What are these?" he didn't want to say it himself, didn't want to admit that he already knew what they were.

"Th-Those are pregnancy books, Dib..." Zim closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Y-You're pregnant..." he finally said what had been eating away at him all day.

Dropping the book down to the ground and shaking his head, Dib began to shake violently where he sat. "N-No...No, that's not possible!" he got back up onto his feet and took a few unsteady steps backwards, away from Zim. "I'm not a female, Zim! Y-You must be mistaken! I CAN'T get pregnant! That's a physical impossibility!" he screamed back at the Irken, trying to make sense of all this.

His gaze fixed on the ground as Dib yelled at him, Zim looked back up at him sadly after a moment or two. "For humans, yes. I thought so too...B-But it seems you were just Irken enough...I'm sorry..." he apologized again, knowing nothing would ever make this moment right for Dib.

"What do you mean 'just Irken enough'? Are you telling me that the males of your species are physically capable of giving birth? Because if that's what you're telling me, why didn't you warn me about it before you agreed to change me?" Dib continued to scream at him, hugging himself, his arms wrapped about his abdomen as he shook his head, beginning to break down now. "Zim, I can't be pregnant! I can't be! I can't! I-I can't...I...I...I have to go...I can't stay here." he made a break for the door, just needing to get away.

"Dib, no!...Please don't go..." Zim's eyes had shot wide open and he stared at the hybrid pleadingly.

Tears staining his cheeks, Dib turned to look back at Zim when he was already halfway out of the door. "I-I'm sorry..." he whispered before turning back to leave the base completely, sprinting in the direction of Tak's base, needing somewhere to stay while he cleared out his head.

Tears finally streaming down his own face, Zim watched wide-eyed. "Don't go..." he reached out one hand helplessly towards Dib's back. But he was already gone.

Already halfway down the street, his own tears blinding him, Dib couldn't even bring himself to look back in the direction of Zim's base. It wasn't until he was about a mile away from Tak's base that he tripped and fell flat on his face, temporarily knocking the wind out of him, causing him to gasp for air before letting out a pained whimper, breaking down completely now.

Then, slowly picking himself back up and stumbling the rest of the way to Tak's base, a complete wreck now, he finally reached Tak's base and knocked loudly on the door, really praying that his sister would get the door and not Tak.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 Finally, the truth is out in the open. Now we move on to a series of chapters without Zim in them. But no worries. Zim'll come back into the picture eventually. XD Hopefully we'll have another chapter out come Thursday.

But until then, let us just quickly respond to those who reviewed last chapter. =3

To Heather Valentine-Highwind: Lol. XD No worries. We have no intentions of stopping anytime soon on this story. Trust me. We're at least 116+ chapters into it. At least, that's as far as I've converted our script to narrative. And we still have a LOT more to convert into chapters. So this story won't be ending anytime soon. XD And yes, poor Dibbles is quite sensitive and crazy in this story due to the pregnancy. XD But no worries. It's that craziness Zim fell in love with to begin with. We just can't keep the two apart for too horribly long. Anyways, thanks again for reading and reviewing. =3 We look forward to hearing back from you again next chapter. ^^

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Lol. XD No worries. Things will work out eventually. Glad to hear you're enjoying it anyways though. ^^

To Invader Krys: Well, hello there, new reviewer. =3 So nice of you to join us. Allow me to be the first to welcome you and thank you for taking the time to read and comment on our story. We really appreciate that. ^^ Before I continue on with my response, allow me to let NGD get in her two cents on your review then I shall finish it out by answering your question.

NGD: Heheh XD Well, we are very glad to hear that. We love to hear when people enjoy our story, and we hope you enjoy the rest as it comes your way.

That said, as a response to your question, yes. There shall be much more to come on this story. Trust me. We've got at least 116 chapters ficafied (as I like to call it) and many more to come. As for the speed of the updates on this story, that really depends on what's going on in our lives. Currently, seeing as how it's summer, I'm trying to get you guys updates as quickly as possible. Though, when school hits again, we may slow back down to one chapter a week. We'll see. For now, however, you can enjoy fairly quick updates. ^^ And don't worry too much about poor Dibbles. As you can see in this last chapter, he now knows what's going on. Unfortunately, he's not too happy about it. But he'll get over it eventually. XD We find it quite flattering that you consider our story to rank as your most favorite ZADR story and thank you for the kind words and cookies. =3 That said, we hope to hear from you again soon. So until next time~


	45. Chapter 46

A/N: Mmmm...Blargh...Sorry for the wait again, you guys. It's been REALLY hot here the past month and if you know anything about me, I do NOT work well under massive amounts of heat. So, I'm sorry for the wait on this next chapter. Also, I'm sorry to say I WILL be leaving soon on a trip to Alaska with my family. This coming up Friday, actually. So updates won't be coming for a while after that point. I'll be gone at least 11 days, possibly more if I come back motion sick (does fine on boats, not so much coming off of them) So yeah. Please be patient with me. However, because I feel bad about not updating for you guys the past few weeks, I'd like to make it up to you by posting as many chapters as possible in the coming four days before my departure. So hopefully you guys can look forward to that. Also, because I promised my friend I would do this, I'd like to promote my friend, areathena, and her stories here on FF. For the record, a while back NGD and I nearly had a stroke (Well, I did at least) when we realized our ZO file had been completely deleted from my new laptop. Shocking, I know. Well, areathena came to the rescue with a power cord to my OLD laptop and I literally re-possessed the ZO file we needed just a few moments before my laptop died, AGAIN. So send her some love, you guys. She helped make my life a LOT easier. Because now I don't have to look through all our original DA messages to ficafy from. =3 And also, give her stories some love too. Especially if any of you are fans of the Mentalist. She has a story titled, A Sitter for Jane, as well as an original story, Hidden, in her profile. So go spam her with love! She deserves it for helping us, especially since we ALSO recovered some other important story files we were thinking of posting here at a later time. That said, I now leave you all with the long-awaited Chapter 46 of ZADR Orange. Much love to those who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And, as always, feedback be much appreciated. ^^ We hope you all enjoy. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Tak: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Gaz: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

To say the very least, Gaz wasn't surprised to hear somebody knocking on the door again that day as she went to open it, thinking that perhaps it was just Zim again. "What now- Dib?" she stopped short of her sentence, looking a little surprised to see her brother standing there and the condition he was in. "What happened to you?" she covered up her surprise quickly, as if she didn't already know.

Unable to even bring his gaze up to meet Gaz's, tears still streaming down his cheeks as he sniffled wetly, Dib merely continued to stare down at the ground in somewhat of a daze. "I-I don't want to talk about it...Can I spend the night here...? Please? I don't know where else to go..." his antennae drooped as he knew he couldn't go back to Zim's base.

Sighing, Gaz stepped aside and gestured for Dib to come inside. "He DID tell you, didn't he? All of it?" she wanted to make sure this wasn't just about the sex so she wouldn't have to put up with this later on again.

Eyes growing wide at those words, Dib finally brought his gaze up to stare at her. "You knew? This entire time? And you didn't even tell me?" he exclaimed, taking a few steps back, his back hitting the wall behind him before sliding down to sit with his face hidden away in his arms as he broke down all over again. "What am I going to do? I can't go back there! It all hurts too much to even be in the same room with him!" he sobbed to himself, not knowing what else he could do at this point.

Sighing again, Gaz shook her head. "We only learned today, Dib...I made Zim promise that he would tell you...I don't know what you should do though...Maybe you should just abort." she threw out the only option she could think of for him.

Eyes snapping wide open at that suggestion, unable to believe that she would even suggest such a thing, Dib snapped his head up to stare at Gaz with wide, disbelieving eyes. "I'm not a murderer, Gaz! How could you even think that I would do something like that? It's not this baby's fault that any of this is happening! It wouldn't be right to just kill it!" he exclaimed, really not so mad about the pregnancy but Zim's lack of honesty. If anything, he was really just in shock, but not so much he would simply allow himself to kill it.

"It's not a baby, Dib. It's an egg. And worse than that, IT is actually THEM. There are three! You could die from that!" Gaz snapped back at him, only trying to come up with the solution that would be best for her brother.

Having overheard what was going on out in the living room, Tak walked into the room, rolling her eyes at that statement. "Maybe a human." she scoffed under her breath.

Taking no notice of Tak, Dib merely narrowed his eyes on his sister. "Egg or not, it's still ali-" he began to protest but cut himself short, just now registering what his sister had said. "W-Wait! What did you just say? H-How many did you say were inside of me? I-I must be hearing things...Th-This has to be some sort of nightmare..." he said, bringing a hand up to hold his head as he felt the room around him spinning suddenly and he tried to get his head back on straight. "I-I think I'm going to be sick. I..." he couldn't finish as he closed his eyes, trying to gain back his composure.

"Uh-oh, Gaz. You better grab him." Tak instructed as she stood back and watched with her arms crossed about her chest.

Lunging forward, Gaz grabbed Dib as he fell to the floor unsteadily, blacking out on her. "Stupid brothers..." she mumbled under her breath to herself before looking back up at Tak. "What should I do with him? I can't just leave him here lying in the middle of the floor, and I doubt he'll be all too happy if I bring him back to Zim." she said, just knowing they were going to be stuck with him for a while now.

Realizing this as well, Tak sighed heavily. "I guess we've got to let him stay here...Maybe we can convince him to go back to Zim..." she then glared at Dib. "He's so sensitive. You'd think he'd be tougher then that." she didn't recall Dib being this weak the last time she had come to Earth.

Merely shrugging, Gaz worked to prop Dib up better. "He's always been kind of a cry baby. I'm not surprised he reacted that way. Besides, if he's as far along as Zim says he is, the pregnancy is probably just making him extra hormonal right now." she said, getting back to her feet with Dib half in her arms.

Continuing to stare down at him, Tak nodded her head at that. "Odd. He used to seem so much more sturdy when he and Zim were enemies..." she said, helping Gaz carry Dib to the couch to lay him down.

"Yeah, well that's because he actually believed Zim would be able to take over the world if he didn't do something to stop him. So he pushed himself to stay one step ahead of Zim whenever he could. But now that they're not enemies and Zim isn't trying to take over the world, he's let his guard down completely, leaving him practically helpless now. The only time he's strong is when he believes the fate of the world is depending on him to be." Gaz said, having known this her entire life.

Sighing again, Tak shook her head. "Maybe if he would be stronger for himself, things like this wouldn't happen...and he could solve his own problems." she glared at Dib again once they had gotten him up on the couch. "Sooo...I guess it's about time for bed now? It's getting late..." she pointed out the window to where the sun was beginning to set.

"Do you think he'll be okay out here alone? He had to swallow down some pretty rough information all at once today." Gaz reminded her, just afraid he would wake up in the middle of night freaking out or something.

Tak merely shrugged. "I honestly don't know...But I'm not sleeping with him." she said before turning to head for the bedroom.

Rolling her eyes at that, Gaz remained kneeling where she was next to Dib. "I never said you had to. Just...bring me some paper or something so I can write him a note for when he wakes up. That way he knows where the bathroom is when he wakes up and needs to puke in the morning." she said, knowing that was the one symptom he had been dealing with for the past few weeks.

Stopping in her tracks, Tak just about face-palmed before pulling out a sheet of paper and handing it over to Gaz. "I forgot about that part..." she groaned, pulling out a pen as well for Gaz to write her note with.

Taking the paper and pen, Gaz quickly began writing Dib a note of where everything was for when he woke up. "Yeah, well get used to it. I'm not so sure convincing him to go back to Zim's base will be all that easy." she said, knowing how stubborn her brother could be at times.

Knowing Gaz was right, Tak sighed yet again. "Probably not...But we have to try. They have to be together for this...And Dib can't be stressing out like this either..." she said, knowing all the stress wouldn't be good for him or the smeets.

Nodding her head, Gaz considered for a moment how they could get Dib to go back to Zim. "I say we sit him down in the morning and have a talk with him about it. His symptoms are only going to get worse the farther the pregnancy progresses. He can't go another 7 months alone on this one. He's going to need Zim there every step of the way." she stated, knowing the pregnancy would only get worse and worse for him.

"S-Seven months? What is he? Wonder Irk? Because Irken's lay eggs, the pregnancy should only last about four months at the most. In that time, he'll have to expand enough for all three of the eggs to get full sized before laying them." Tak explained, having never heard of such a thing as a pregnancy lasting THAT long.

Turning her head to look back at Tak, Gaz considered her words for a few moments before looking back at Dib. "Well, humans carry their young for nine months before giving birth. But if what you're telling me is true about the amount of time Irkens carry theirs, shouldn't he be bigger by now? That would mean he's already half way through his pregnancy. Exactly how big are these eggs supposed to get anyways?" she asked, having a hard time believing he could already be halfway through his pregnancy.

Giving that question some thought, Tak, after a few moments, proceeded to hold her hands out about six inches apart. "They grow slowly the first month or so then start to get much bigger until they reach full size..." she said before thinking about it some more. "He'll probably end up carrying them a little over the four months though if what you're saying is true...But either way, the smeets inside the eggs will still need to grow for several more months after before hatching." she said, recalling from memory what she knew of naturally born smeets.

"So we can expect he'll be carrying them for another 3 or 4 months at least...And what is he expected to do with them after they've been laid if they don't hatch right away? Will he be required to carry them around and keep them warm or something?" Gaz asked, trying to get a better idea of how this would all go down.

"Hmmm...Normally, we use incubation tubes...I'm not sure where he would put the eggs though seeing as we don't have any..." Tak shrugged.

"That could be problematic then if we don't have a place to put them after they're laid...Is there some way these 'incubation tubes' can be produced in the time between now and then? I know for a fact that Dib will be crushed if he goes through all this just to have them die because he had no place to put the eggs after they were laid." Gaz said, able to see it all now.

Tak shook her head. "We can't exactly get the blueprints for one by any easy means. Only the Tallest have access to them. Not even the greatest hackers in the universe could get to them without their say so." she said, knowing how powerful the Massive's computer system was, especially after what had happened back when Zim had managed to take control of it a few years earlier.

"So Dib's pretty mush screwed, isn't he? Your leader sent you down here to kill Zim. The chances of him doing something to help save his offspring are highly unlikely." Gaz assumed that no amount of compromising would convince Zim's leader to help them.

"Well...Not exactly...Red sent me down here, but Purple doesn't know that yet. We might still be able to get it from them...But we should wait until Dib's awake to do so. They may want proof that he's actually pregnant." Tak said, knowing Red could be easily manipulated if done so through Purple.

Agreeing to wait until Dib woke up, Gaz nodded her head. "Alright. We'll wait until he's awake then. In the meantime, perhaps we should get some sleep and let Dib rest up for a few hours." she stood up, placing the note to Dib on his chest.

Nodding her own head, Tak approached her from behind to wrap an arm around her and lead her towards the bedroom.

Meanwhile, for the next few hours, Dib continued to sleep soundly, coming back around at about 4:00 in the morning. He groaned, blinking his eyes open slowly. "Ugh...What happened? Where am I?" he asked himself, sitting up slowly, the small note Gaz had left him falling down from his chest to his lap. Picking it up to read, he then looked in the direction of the hallway across the room from him.

Contrary to what Gaz had thought, he actually wasn't feeling as sick as he thought he would upon waking up but rather heartbroken as all the memories of what had happened less than 24 hours ago flooded back into his mind. "Zim..." he felt the tears coming again, the very thought of the other hurting him so much more than anything physical.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 As I'm sure you can all see, Gaz and Tak aren't too happy about having Dib stay with them. And I can assure you, Dib's not very happy about it either. But what about Zim? What happened to him, I'm sure you're all wondering. Well, you'll all find out next chapter. But until then, let us just quickly respond to those who reviewed last chapter. =3

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Yaaaaaay!

To Invader Krys (Response courtesy NGD): Yeah. He does. But you would too if you were suddenly overly hormonal and preggers in an alien fashion.

To Invader Kit Membrane: Well, here's the next chapter. I wouldn't know anything about the Star Trek fandom myself. It's not really my thing. But Dib will get over his inital shock eventually. Just you wait and see. As for poor Zimmeh, he'll be needing a hug over the course of the next few chapters. Unfortunately, none of those hugs will be coming from Dib. But you'll see what I mean a little later. Until then, we hope you continue to read and enjoy our admittedly slow updates~

To Illisandria Carthain (Response courtesy NGD): "Sorry you didn't get to enter, but we couldn't stand to have the contest open any longer. Too many douchebags up in hur.

And, yes. I LOVE Danny Phantom. It is my favorite show, after all. (Wink) I've seen every episode and have memorized most of the old ones. I even recorded them on VHS while they were playing on TV, and then I recorded the recordings on cassette tapes so I could listen to them on my tape recorder when a TV wasn't available. I had a toy from the Burger King ultimate enemy kick, and I carried it everywhere (Except the bathroom because he's a guy and that would be weird). I was so hyped with DP that before I moved, everyone tried to insult me by calling me Danny Phantom's girlfriend at school, but I didn't mind. I like Super and Fun Danny best, but Vlad, Mr. Lancer, the Box Ghost, Dan, Clockwork...Aw heck... EVERYONE else is awesome! Except Dani and Nocturne. I hate them and think Dani should not have been made, and if it weren't for the hilarious jokes in the dreams they visited, I would think Nocturne's episode shouldn't have existed either.

I'm not really in to IZ honestly. I like some of the characters and it's an okay show, but I don't really care if they bring it back or not. Sure, if they did, I'd watch it, but I honestly think it's fine where it stopped. Leaves it open for all us fans to make our own endings.

And you will find out about where the other characters are later in the story XD They pop in and out you see, but they aren't important, so we don't really care."

Pat: That said, let me just throw in that I agree with basically everything NGD said in the above response. Danny Phantom has been one of my favorite shows since the time it came out, I've seen every episode multiple times over the past several years, and my favorite character is Vlad, hands down. I can't get over how cute he and Danny would look together as a couple. And while I liked the final movie, it saddened me more than made me happy to know it was ending. So I have mixed feelings. As for IZ, while I loved the show, I won't say I'm necessarily SAD that is ended. Sure, I wish the episodes had continued and I think I would have been happier if they had at least finished up the second season, but at the same time, I'd actually really rather they NOT bring it back. I get the feeling they'd fuck with the universe if they brought it back now, ten years later. I don't want them messing up the fandom anymore. A hoard of Gir-obsessed fangirls have already basically done that. I'm all for preserving the originality of IZ. Not bringing back episodes that could potentially ruin it. And NGD already answered your third question, so I won't even go into it. Thanks for reading, as always. Until next time~


	46. Chapter 47

A/N: And so it begins. People, I am about to epically spam you all with updates. I'll add another chapter ever few hours for you guys to read right up until I leave for Alaska tomorrow morning. =3 SO PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR TEH AWESOMENESS! Much love to those who have faved or added the story to their story alert lists. And, as always, feedback be much appreciated. =3 Hope you all enjoy Chapter 47 of ZADR Orange. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Tak: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

As horrible as Dib was doing, back at his base, Zim didn't seem to be doing all that much better than the hybrid either. He had taken to curling up on the couch once more, unwilling to go back downstairs to the bedroom alone. He already knew Dib had probably gone to stay with Gaz and Tak, being the only place he could have gone, but he just couldn't take much more of this leaving and coming back. It had only been a little over a month since he actually admitted how he really felt towards Dib. But ever since then, it had just been one tragedy after another. At this point, he was ready to just end it now while he still could.

Meanwhile, back at Tak's base, Tak stretched, crawling out of bed early, as usual, to make herself and Gaz some breakfast.

Jolting and stiffening when he heard Tak approaching, Dib quickly returning to his back and pretended to be asleep still, wanting to have the least amount of contact with Tak as physically possible while staying there.

Humming an idle tune to herself, Tak set to work cooking a delicious smelling breakfast.

Dib, however, could only shudder, something in the air not sitting right with him as he felt his stomach churning in a sickening fashion, not quite ready for the smell of breakfast foods so early in the morning.

Thinking nothing of the smells as she thought Dib was still asleep, Tak then went about setting the table for breakfast.

Pulling the blanket lying on the couch by his feet over his head and shifting slightly in an attempt to escape the smell, Dib let out a small whine. "Mmmmm..." he panted out quietly to himself, trying to keep himself from getting sick and having to make a dash for the bathroom.

Antennae perking, Tak caught the bit of shuffling about and groaning coming from the living room and rolled her eyes. "You better not throw up in there, Dib." she warned from her spot in the kitchen.

Swallowing down his sickness for the time being, Dib gave up on trying to hide the fact that he was awake from her and closed his eyes in an attempt to will himself back to sleep. "Trust me, I'm trying not to..." he said before letting out another small whimper, just wanting to slip back into sleep until the pain in his stomach had passed.

Rolling her eyes again at those words, Tak walked from the kitchen into the living room. "Whether you're trying to or not, it's going to happen. So just go to the bathroom and do it already." she said, quickly growing annoyed with his attempts to keep from getting sick.

His antennae drooping, Dib lifted his head up from under the covers to look at her before dropping his gaze back down to the ground, knowing he should but not wanting to mainly because he knew that there wouldn't be anything or anyone to comfort him afterwords like there was back at Zim's base. "I'll be fine..." he said in a whisper, looking away before pulling the covers over his head again to hide under, just wishing Tak would leave him alone.

Dropping the subject for the time being when it seemed Dib wouldn't listen to her, Tak rather took a different approach to the situation, trying to drop a hint or two while she could about getting him to go back to Zim. "You know, I bet Zim misses you..." she said, thinking maybe she could convince him to go back without all three of them having to sit down and have a talk about it later.

Eyes growing wide at those words, Dib quickly calmed himself back down, letting his eyelids slip halfway closed as his eyes filled to the brim with un-shed tears. "I don't want to see him...It hurts too much to be around him right now..." he began shaking slightly with emotion, letting out a few small whimpers from his spot underneath the blanket.

Rolling her eyes yet again at his reaction, Tak brought up a hand to pinch right between them. "FINE! Just don't throw up in there!" she turned to storm back into the kitchen, not knowing how much more of this she could take.

Lifting his head again to peek out from underneath the blanket at her, Dib blinked the tears out of his eyes before wilting again against the couch. "Okay..." he just didn't want to get into another fight with her while staying there.

Continuing her work inside the kitchen, Tak nodded in acknowledgment of him before addressing him yet again, also trying to keep her cool. "So, what do you want for breakfast?" she asked, knowing he needed to eat at least something while he was staying there.

Closing his eyes and shaking his head, Dib buried his face into his arms. "You don't have to make me anything...I'm not very hungry right now...A-And I know you don't want me here..." he said, not wanting to become a burden if it meant him having to have contact with Tak.

Shaking her head at that and putting down the plate she was holding, Tak turned back to face the living room again. "Whether I want you here or not doesn't matter. I still have to make sure you eat and stay healthy. You're carrying for crying out loud!" she threw her arms up in the air as though it were obvious she had to make him something.

"And would you act any differently towards me if I weren't?" Dib suddenly snapped, pushing himself up from underneath the blanket.

"Of course I would." Tak stated calmly, closing her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Yeah...That's what I thought...You and everybody else..." Dib sighed, antennae drooping even more.

"Except for Zim." Tak pointed out.

"Zim probably hates me now...You didn't see the look he had on his face when I left...But I couldn't stay there...I couldn't..." Dib gripped the blanket tightly.

"He was probably just in shock. I'm going to guess you made some lame promise about not being mad at him if he told you or something." Tak made a small gesture in the air with one of her hands.

"No, I didn't!" Dib barked at her before bowing his head, eyes squeezed tightly shut. "I couldn't...I told him I couldn't make any promises about how I would react! The only thing I promised him was that I wouldn't hate him, no matter what!...And I don't...But that doesn't mean I've forgiven him for this yet! I don't know how I could after what he did to me! And that's why it's so hard to even think about him right now!" he shook his head, just wanting to drop the subject altogether now.

"Did you ever think that maybe he didn't MEAN to do this? I'm pretty sure he was too stupid to even think it was possible." Tak rolled her eyes yet again.

"You just don't get it! I'm not talking about him getting me pregnant! I can accept that! What I'm talking about is the fact that he's taken everything from me! He's taken my heart, my trust, and above all else, MY VIRGINITY! And what's next? My soul, perhaps? It's like I don't even belong to myself anymore because he's taken everything I had...He's taken everything and left me with nothing...I don't even have his trust enough for him to tell me these things..." Dib blinked a few stray tears from his eyes.

Furious now despite how much she hated Zim, Tak couldn't help but stick up for him here, exploding on Dib now. "DID YOU EVER STOP TO CONSIDER THAT YOU GAVE HIM ALL THAT? I HATE THE GUY AND EVEN I CAN TELL HE'S NOT THE TYPE OF PERSON WHO WOULD JUST TAKE ALL THOSE THINGS! I KNOW HE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH WHEN HE SAID YOU ASKED HIM TO! HE EVEN SAID HE OFFERED TO STOP AND YOU TOLD HIM NOT TO! EVER THINK OF THAT? HUH? HUH!" she just couldn't take his whining any longer.

Also becoming upset at her own words, Dib yelled right back at her. "HOW COULD I WHEN I WAS SO DRUGGED UP THAT I COULDN'T EVEN REMEMBER ANY OF IT? LISTEN! I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WANT ME TO GO BACK TO ZIM'S JUST SO YOU CAN GET RID OF ME, BUT IF YOU REALLY CAN'T STAND HAVING ME AROUND THEN WHY DON'T YOU JUST TELL ME TO LEAVE ALREADY? ON SECOND THOUGHT, DON'T! I DON'T WANT TO STAY HERE ANY LONGER!" he screamed back at her, standing up abruptly to storm out of the base.

"Dammit." Tak cursed, flicking the stove off and then running after Dib. "GET BACK HERE, DIB!" she yelled after him, knowing she couldn't just let him wander the streets the remainder of his pregnancy.

"NO! WHY SHOULD I? IT'S NOT WORTH IT TO STAY WITH YOU WHEN ALL YOU DO IS VERBALLY ABUSE ME EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY! I'VE ALREADY HAD TO PUT UP WITH THAT FOR NEARLY MY ENTIRE LIFE, AND I'M SICK OF IT!" Dib refused to turn back around as he continued down the street.

Continuing to follow after him, Tak growled out lowly at that. "What is WRONG WITH YOU? Why are you such a cry baby? WHY can't you just go back to Zim and be happy? He's probably doing something right now to kill himself because of this! WHO KNOWS? And all you can do is whine and complain because YOU can't remember something!" she screamed back at him.

"SHUT UP!" Dib stopped in his tracks and turned to glare daggers back at her. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T NEED EVERYBODY YELLING AT ME ABOUT THIS AND BLAMING THE ENTIRE THING ON ME! LIKE I HAD ANY CONTROL OVER THE SITUATION!" he narrowed his eyes on her even more.

"YOU HAVE CONTROL NOW, DON'T YOU? YOU SHOULDN'T BE OUT MAKING THINGS WORSE! JUST GO BACK TO HIM ALREADY! KILL THE DAMN THINGS IF THEY CAUSE YOU SO MUCH TROUBLE!" Tak knew she shouldn't have suggested that as it was too rare to allow him to get rid of them, but she couldn't control her anger in that moment.

"IT'S NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS WHAT I DO WITH THEM! SO JUST BUTT OUT ALREADY! GOING BACK WON'T MAKE THINGS ANY BETTER BECAUSE HE CAN NEVER TAKE BACK WHAT HE DID, AND I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN TRUST HIM ANY LONGER!" Dib refused to listen, just wanting everybody to leave him alone long enough for him to clear out his head.

A/N: And there you have it. Your weekly update of ZADR Orange. =3 But oh teh noes! D8 Teh caps lock! It be raping your guys' computer screens! D888. Lol. XD Or perhaps that's just me. Anyways, let me just quickly respond to the one person who reviewed last chapter. =3 Then I'll post another chapter in just a few more hours. XD

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Gladtohearit! 8DDD


	47. Chapter 48

A/N: Alright, you guys. Here's the second chapter of today's spammage. =3 Hope you all enjoy Chapter 48 of ZADR Orange. Oh, and as always, feedback, faves, and adds to story alert lists be much appreciated. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Tak/Jack: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gaz/Gir: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Wanting desperately to strangle Dib right then, Tak flexed her claws. "Y-You! GAH! YOU KNOW WHAT? FINE! DON'T GO BACK TO HIM! AND WHEN YOU AND YOUR SMEETS DIE, YOU CAN REST ASSURED IT WAS YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT!" she turned to storm back to her base.

Narrowing his eyes on her even more, Dib could only scream at her one last time. "AT THIS POINT, I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT DEATH! ANYTHING WOULD BE BETTER THAN HAVING TO PUT UP WITH ALL THIS SHIT!" he screamed before finally turning to storm away from her himself, just wanting to get away from everything and everyone.

Growling, Tak turned to glare daggers at his backside. "FINE!" she screamed as loudly as she could so he'd know she didn't care before turning on her heel again to continue on inside and slam the door shut behind her.

Needing somewhere, ANYWHERE, that he could take a breather and straighten out all the thoughts in his head, Dib took to sprinting down the street in search of somewhere quiet. Unfortunately for him, being Sunday, the school wasn't open for him to stay at, and he had been kicked out of every place he could think of to go. So heading in the direction of the park to maybe find a bench to sit at for a while, he attempted to calm himself back down enough to figure out some plan of what he would be doing when he needed somewhere to sleep at night.

Meanwhile, back at her base, Tak paced about the living room, wringing her antennae.

Having just woken up thanks to all the yelling, Gaz pulled herself from bed and made her way into the living room where Tak was. "What happened?" she asked, as though she hadn't heard every word that had passed between the two.

"Your stupid brother ran for the hills!" Tak exploded, throwing her arms up into the air frustratedly.

Sighing, Gaz could only curse under her breath at that. "Dammit, Dib..." she looked back up at Tak. "I'll go find and have a talk with him after breakfast. Just give him some time to cool off." she said, coming up to Tak so she could place her hands on the Irken's shoulders.

Letting her antennae go, Tak nodded before following Gaz to the kitchen to eat.

Meanwhile, back at Zim's base, Gir crawled on up onto the couch to where Zim had just been lying lifelessly for the past several hours. "Mastah?" he shook him a bit, somewhat worried that Zim looked as bad as he had a couple months ago when he had come home from the taco fest.

Sighing heavily at the shake, Zim didn't move as he went to respond. "What, Gir?" he asked, his voice calm if not tired.

His little antenna drooping, Gir stopped shaking Zim. "You look sad, Mastah. Why you so sad again?" the little android asked, looking genuinely worried about Zim. "Do you need a hug?" he then asked, holding out his stubby little arms as though to hug Zim.

Glancing at Gir, Zim then nodded. "Yes..." he held out his own arms to the android.

Smiling at that, Gir wrapped his arms around Zim the best he could and gave him a tight squeeze, just wanting to make Zim feel better. "Mastah hungry?" he asked, still not pulling away.

Hugging back just as tightly, Zim merely shook his head. "I don't want to eat, Gir..." he said, feeling too emotionally drained at the moment to eat anything.

"Then Mastah going to nap again?" Gir asked, snuggling up to Zim comfortably.

Sighing at the question, Zim nodded. "Yeah...I guess I will..." he said, closing his eyes.

"Okie dokie..." Gir responded, his usual energy not there as he curled up next to Zim, nuzzling him affectionately.

Back at the park, Dib stood over a sink in a public restroom, panting after having finally lost the battle with his stomach and thrown up in the toilet there. "Ugh..." he groaned, closing his eyes and waiting a moment for the nausea to pass completely before scooping some water into his mouth.

Catching sight of Dib, that's when a random man standing a few sinks down washing his own hands raised an eyebrow at the panting boy. "Are you okay?" he asked, thinking that for some reason something just seemed off about this kid.

Jolting a bit, Dib jumped back at the man's question. "Wh-What? Oh! Y-Yeah...I will be..." his antennae drooped as his face paled somewhat.

"Are you sure? You look awfully pale. Are your parents around here somewhere?" the man asked, slightly concerned by how sickly the boy looked in that moment.

"Ummm...No...I'm not living with my parents any longer...My mom died a long time ago, and I'm not even speaking to my dad...But I'll be fine." Dib sent the man a weak smile. "It's just a bit of nausea. It should pass in a little while." he reassured the other, not wanting to get into the details of his current situation.

A little thrown off guard by that answer, the man could only shake his head "You poor kid. It's a shame you can't rely on your parents anymore. Here." he offered his hand to Dib. "Do you have anywhere you need to go? I could help you out." he just didn't feel right about leaving this kid here all alone.

Staring at the hand being offered him, Dib shifted his gaze down to the ground and began playing with his fingers nervously. "I...I don't...have anywhere to go anymore really..." he admitted, not meeting the man's gaze.

Eyes growing wide, the man could only drop his hand away at those words. "Seriously? Ah, kid...What happened? Why are you all alone?" he asked, this kid seeming far too young to be on his own.

Staring down at his feet still, Dib shifted about in his spot a bit uneasily at the question. "I-I seem to be getting in fights with everybody around me lately...A-And I guess I just chose not to stay with them." he sighed, knowing that a lot of it was his own fault.

Shaking his head again, the man sent Dib a sad look at that response. "I'm sorry, kid...Is there anything I can do?" he asked, unable to stand seeing somebody so unfortunate.

Shaking his head in response, Dib pulled away somewhat. "N-No...I-I'll be fine on my own..." he didn't want to cause anymore trouble.

Taking his own step away, sensing Dib's uncomfortableness, the man nodded before shaking his head and sighing. "Are you hungry?" he then asked, trying to come up with anything he could do for the other before leaving.

"I-I..." Dib hesitated to answer before looking back down at the ground. "N-No...I-I don't think I'd be able to keep anything down at the moment...I-I've been kind of sick lately, so..." he began to say.

"Then a trip to the doctor?" the man suggested, really feeling like he needed to help this kid.

Eyes snapping wide open at the suggestion, Dib quickly looked back up at the man so he could shake his head, a somewhat scared look on his face now. "No! I mean...It's just some indigestion...It will pass in a few hours or so..." he said, a little afraid a doctor would notice the non-human parts of his anatomy and feel the need to make him into a specimen to study closer.

A bit surprised by Dib's answer, the man then smiled at him. "If you're afraid of the doctor, you just had to say so. Personally, I've never liked going there either. It makes me uneasy because I don't know what they're doing, and it always costs a bundle." he laughed, understanding why Dib might be nervous about something like that.

"Yeah...I don't think they'd be able to help anyways...It's not really something that can just be cured...But I'm sure it will go away on its own eventually. I-" Dib suddenly cut himself short, another wave of nausea hitting him at that moment, causing him to dart into one of the public restroom's stalls to empty his stomach.

Watching him worried now, the man could only flinch slightly at Dib's current state. "Okay, kid. I promise I won't take you to the doctor, but I can't just leave you here to throw your guts up." he said, knowing he'd never be able to bring himself to just leave him there now that he knew the other had nowhere else to go.

Flushing the toilet once he had finally recovered enough, Dib, after a moment or two, made his way out of the stall, holding a hand to his mouth as he headed for the sink again to wash his mouth out. "I really don't want to be a bother...I'm fine now...Really..." he lied, face paler than it had been before.

"Oh, it's no bother at all." the man smiled genuinely at him. "What's your name, kid?" he then asked, figuring he may as well get to know him now that he had decided to help him.

Seeming a bit hesitant at first to answer that, Dib shifted about in his spot again before finally speaking up in a quiet voice. "D-Dib...Dib Membrane..." he said, almost cautiously.

The man smiled at that answer. "Nice to meet you, Dib. I'm Jack Williams." he offered his hand to the hybrid to shake.

Blushing a bit, Dib however could only stare down at the ground beneath him, unable to lift his gaze to meet Jack's. "N-Nice to meet you too..." he said in a somewhat shy voice, not used to anybody being so nice to him, especially a stranger.

Smiling even when Dib refused the take his hand, Jack rather reached forward to take Dib by the wrist so he could lead Dib out of the restroom. "Come on, Dib. You can stay with me until you feel better." he said in all seriousness, throwing Dib slightly off guard.

Knowing that it would probably be a while before the morning sickness subsided and other symptoms began to take its place, Dib could only sigh at those words. "Th-Thank you...B-But I really don't want to be all that much of a bother...S-So I'll only stay until my nausea passes..." he said, knowing he couldn't stay long if he wanted to keep his pregnancy a secret.

A/N: And there you have it. Yet another update of ZADR Orange. =3 And look! A new character! 8D For the record, Jack is going to become a very important character in this story. As well as another new character who shall be joining the story in Chapter 49. So, hope you all grow to love him as much as I do. Jack equals love. Oh, and before I post, let me just quickly respond to the people who reviewed last chapter. =3 (Sorry, you guys, but to keep this quick, NGD won't be responding to posts until after I get back. I figured I could handle the few we get between these spam postings. ^^ So yeah. I'll post another chapter in just a few more hours. XD But until then, hope you all enjoy this chapter I'm posting now~)

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: (Insert heart emoticon here) XD

To kikidon11: D'awwwz. ^-^ We feel so loved now. Thanks for reviewing. =3 Here be your next update. XD Don't burn yourself out clicking that refresh button though. XD Lol. And Dib's just moody cause he's all hormonal right now. XD Not really his fault he's pregnant. And Dibbeh knows Zim loves him. He just needs the time away to get over being mad at Zimmeh. XD Cause even if they do love each other, it doesn't mean they don't still get mad at each other on a regular basis. XD Anyways, hope you enjoy this next chapter. And we look forward to hearing back from you really soon. ^^

To Invader Krys: Lol. XD Well, here be the next chapter of that spammage. Hope you enjoy~ X3


	48. Chapter 49

A/N: Woot! Third chapter of today's spammage. =3 Hope you all enjoy Chapter 49 of ZADR Orange. Oh, and as always, feedback, faves, and adds to story alert lists be much appreciated. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Tak/Jack/Rose: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gir: Me

Gaz: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Smiling when Dib agreed to come with him, Jack decided for the time being not to push Dib into staying with him any longer than would be comfortable for the boy. "That's fine. Stay as long as you need to." he said, leaving the offer open for now as he led Dib out of the restroom area and towards where he had parked his car. "Sorry it's a mess. I always forget to clean it out." he laughed lightly, getting the door for Dib.

"Th-That's fine..." Dib really didn't care as he climbed into the front seat next to the older man, more worried about getting sick in his car than anything else. Then, strapping himself in shakily, Dib rather pressed a hand to the window before swallowing thickly.

Smiling at Dib again once he had gotten himself strapped in, Jack reached over a comforting hand to place on the hybrid's shoulder. "If you start to feel sick again, let me know and I'll pull over or open the window." he said, trying to make this car trip as easy as he could for the other.

Nodding his head slowly in response, Dib then took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Is it far from here? Your house, I mean...?" he asked weakly, really praying it wouldn't be that long of a car trip.

Jack shook his head. "Not too far. Just a short drive." he reassured the other before starting up the car.

"Alright..." Dib said, closing his eyes before reclining in his seat a bit and leaning up against the door, curling up with his knees to his chest.

Shaking his head again as he released the parking brake, Jack couldn't help but comment on how Dib looked to him just then. "I-I don't mean to sound rude...But you sort of remind me of my wife..." he laughed nervously. "She throws up a lot, you see, but she IS pregnant..." he said as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home, just around the corner from where they were.

Eyes growing wide at the man's words, Dib couldn't help but tense up completely. "Heh...I-I'm pretty sure that's not what's wrong with me..." he lied the best he could despite panicking a bit now. "I-It's just indigestion...I-I have a weak stomach, s-so certain foods just make me sick..." he reiterated, not wanting the other to think it might be anything else.

Sending Dib an odd glance at those words, Jack soon turned his attention back to the road. "I wasn't going to suggest that you were pregnant..." he then laughed a little at the absurdity of such a thought. "Men can't get pregnant." he said before finally pulling up in front of a medium-sized house.

Seeming to blush in response to that, Dib merely dropped his gaze back down to the ground. "I know that..." he mumbled, playing with his fingers some more, trying to take his mind off of Zim and the smeets growing inside of him.

Smiling back at Dib, Jack then unstrapped himself from his seat to get up out of the car. "Need some help, Dib?" he asked, unsure whether the hybrid had even noticed they had stopped yet.

Merely shaking his head in response, Dib went ahead and sat himself up straight so he could get out of his seat on his own, stumbling to his feet before bringing a hand up to hold his head, the world spinning in a sickening fashion.

"N-No...I-I'm fine..." he said, shaking his head a second time in an attempt to straighten himself out before following Jack into the house slowly, looking about the place curiously. "Y-You have a nice house..." he said more out of habit than anything else as he couldn't focus on anything long enough to really give it a good look over.

Realizing that Dib was having difficulty taking it all in, Jack just smiled. "You don't have to say anything, Dib." he said, taking his hand and leading him over towards the couch. "Here...You rest. I'll go get you a bucket." he said before turning to leave in search of one.

Nodding his head at Jack's words, Dib found himself taking a seat on the couch and laying back before turning over onto one of his sides to curl up, his body shaking slightly.

Returning a few minutes later with a bucket in hand, Jack set it down on the floor next to Dib's head. "Now, if you start feeling sick again, you just use that bucket, okay...?" he said, not wanting Dib to have to get up and try to find a bathroom.

Nodding his head again, Dib then closed his eyes and let out a small whimper as all he wanted to do in that moment was sleep it off, finding it difficult however now that his head had begun to hurt.

Pressing a hand to Dib's forehead, Jack pulled away after a moment. "You feel a bit warm...Are there any medications you can take?" he asked, thinking that perhaps a painkiller would help him sleep better.

Opening his mouth to list off a few, Dib quickly stopped himself before closing his mouth again and shaking his head, knowing from his biology class that it wasn't good for the babies to take medications while pregnant. "No...I shouldn't...Medications make me dizzy..." he tried to come up with a good excuse for why he couldn't take any.

Smiling softly, Jack then ran a hand through his hair soothingly. "Well, how about a glass of water then?" he offered, wanting to get him something that might make him feel at least a little bit better.

Seeming to give that offer some thought, Dib then nodded his head, deciding that a glass of water couldn't hurt him too much. "Alright...I can try to keep that down..." he agreed, feeling rather relieved now as he wanted to wash out the horrible taste that was still lingering in his mouth from earlier.

Nodding his head, Jack stood back. "Okay. I'll get you a glass." he said, heading for the kitchen to get Dib some water.

That's when Jack's wife wandered into the living room from upstairs, yawning wide as she was certain that she had heard Jack's voice coming from in there. "Honey, I feel-" she froze, seeing Dib. "Well, who are you?" she asked, smiling friendly at him.

Not having been expecting Jack's wife to come into the room, Dib couldn't help but jump a bit at the question. "I...I, ummm..." he seemed to panic somewhat, blushing deeply and staring down at the ground.

Making his way back into the living room, water in hand, Jack smiled as he made his way over to his wife. "Ahh, good afternoon." he leaned over to kiss her. "How was your nap?" he asked, having left the house to perform a few errands while she had been asleep.

Smiling at the kiss, Jack's wife turned her attention away from Dib for a moment to look back at him. "Great for once. I'm feeling a lot better now." she said before turning her attention back to Dib again. "But who is this?" she asked, not seeming at all surprised her husband would come back to the house with a stranger.

"Oh." Jack smiled sadly at his wife before bringing the glass of water over to Dib. "This is Dib. I met him at the park today...He seems to be sick." he explained, telling her how they had met.

Covering her mouth with her hands, Jack's wife couldn't help but send Dib her own sad look. "Oh, you poor thing. Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked, just as concerned about him now as her husband was.

Blushing, not used to people being so nice to him, Dib merely sank down in his spot a bit shyly, shaking his head slowly in response.

"Ohh...You poor thing." Jack's wife smiled apologetically at him. "I'm sorry. I guess you must not be used to this..." she held her hand out to shake Dib's. "My name is Rose by the way." she said, introducing herself in hopes that would help make Dib a little less uncomfortable.

Hesitating a moment, Dib slowly reached out to take her hand, her temperament reminding him very much of his own mother's. "N-Nice to meet you..." he said, in a low whisper before shifting his gaze up to look at her, trying not to seem too nervous.

Her belly only a little extended at this point, Rose smiled back down at him warmly. "Nice to meet you too, Dib..." she said as politely as possible.

"So, Dib...Are you hungry?" Jack then asked, cutting in.

Shifting his gaze over to look back at Jack, Dib merely shook his head before pulling his hand back after a moment. "N-No...Thank you..." he thanked him anyways, the last thing he felt like doing in that moment was eating.

Smiling back at him, Jack nodded his head understandingly. "Well, okay. You just rest up and let us know if you need anything." he said before taking his wife by the hand to lead her out of the living room so Dib could get some rest.

Meanwhile, back with Tak and Gaz, Tak sighed and looked up at Gaz as she came back into the house. "Any luck finding him?" she asked, starting to regret yelling at him now.

"No..." Gaz huffed out in an irritated fashion before sighing herself. "I have no idea where he could have gone. I looked everywhere for him." she said, having spent the entire morning searching for him all over town.

Tak shook her head. "We should tell Zim he left...Maybe he can help find him." she said, already knowing Dib was too stubborn to have gone back to Zim.

About to protest that idea, Gaz stopped herself before she could even say anything, sighing as she knew Tak was right. "Yeah, I guess you're right...We don't really have any other choice at this point, do we?" she said, feeling a bit too defeated in that moment to come up with any other ideas.

Tak shook her head again. "I'll pull up a transmission screen." she said before turning to transfer a call to Zim's base.

Back at Zim's base, Zim still had yet to leave the couch since Dib left, looking a little worse for the wear at this point.

When the computer announced that they had an incoming transmission coming through, Gir crawled out from under the covers when Zim didn't respond to it before giving him a light shake. "Mastah? Mastah! Someone on da TV phone!" he announced, unsure whether he should get it or not.

"I don't care..." was Zim's only response, not wanting to talk to whoever it might be on the other end.

Looking at Zim, then the screen that now said 'waiting transmission', and then back at Zim, Gir, after a moment of contemplation, jumped off the couch to get it himself, pressing a button on the wall that caused the screen to display an image of Gaz and Tak in the background. "Hellooo? Oh! Scary lady! Hi!" he waved at Gaz, smiling with his tongue hanging out.

Rolling her eyes at the stupidity of Zim's robot, Tak quickly cut in before Gaz or the android could say anything else. "Hey, robot. Get Zim." she ordered it, though didn't expect much from it, seeing as how it was ZIM's SIR unit.

"Okie Dokie!" Gir hopped off his perch and ran back over to where Zim was. "Mastah! Da scary lady is on da phone for you!" he announced loudly in an attempt to get Zim's attention.

"Tell her whatever it is, I don't care..." Zim didn't feel like speaking to either them as he pulled the blanket up over his head.

Hopping off the couch, Gir returned to the screen where Gaz and Tak were waiting less than a minute later to give them Zim's response. "He sez whatevah it is, he don care!" he screamed just as loudly back at them before smiling.

Growing annoyed quickly, Gaz merely ignored the android in favor of shouting over the robot at Zim. "SO DO YOU MEAN TO SAY YOU DON'T CARE THAT DIB IS MISSING, ZIM?" she asked, not so convinced Zim would feel the same way after finding out Dib had left Tak's base hours ago and not returned.

A/N: And there you have it. Yet another update of ZADR Orange. =3 AND LOOK! ANOTHER NEW CHARACTER! 8D And such an awesome character she is. =3 JackXRose equals love. X3 But do not mistake them for Titanic characters. NGD named them and says quite clearly that she was not thinking Titanic when she decided on their names. So yeah. Let me just quickly respond to the people who reviewed last chapter and then I'll post another chapter in just a few more hours. XD But until then, hope you all enjoy this chapter I'm posting now~

To kikidon11: Lol. XD Glad you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Until next chapter~

To Invader Krys: -_-; Jack is not pushy. He's just nicer than the majority of other characters in this story, as you'll see soon enough with the rest of my spamming for the day. X3 But definitely not pushy.


	49. Chapter 50

A/N: Alright. Last of today's spammage. Sorry it wasn't updated sooner, you guys. I got kicked off my computer for a few hours and that screwed me over a little. So it looks as though I'll be leaving you all at Chapter 50 of ZADR Orange before I leave on my vacation. Hope you guys enjoyed today's spammage though and will look forward to more updates after I get back. I know I'll be looking forward to posting them. =3 But for now, please enjoy this last installment of ZO. As always, feedback is much appreaciated as are faves and adds to story alert lists. ^^ So until next time, you guys~ We hope you enjoy. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Rose: Notgonnadie

Dib/Gaz: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

His eyes opening wide at Gaz's words, Zim slowly removed the blanket from over his head to sit up slowly. "He's...missing?" he repeated the words to himself, wanting to make sure he had heard her right.

"YES! MISSING! HE RAN OFF THIS MORNING AND NEVER CAME BACK! WE'VE BEEN OUT LOOKING FOR HIM EVERYWHERE EVER SINCE! BUT HE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANYWHERE!" Gaz continued to yell over Gir, trying to get through to Zim.

The words just then seeming click in Zim's mind, Zim gasped and sat up all the way, horrified. "Are you sure you looked everywhere?" he asked, panicking now.

"YES, ZIM! EVERYWHERE! EVERYWHERE EXCEPT THERE!" Gaz pointed at the screen, indicating to his base.

Jumping off the couch, Zim shoved Gir aside to take his own place in front of the screen. "But he's not here! He hasn't been here since he left for there!" he pointed back at Tak's own base through the screen.

"Well, he's not here. He's not here, he's not back at home, he's not at the school, he's not ANYWHERE!" Gaz emphasized her last word in order to get her message of 'Dib is missing' through to him.

Standing where he was in shock for a moment, Zim quickly ran through a number of different places he assumed Dib might go if not to any of the other places Gaz mentioned. "D-Did you check the park?" he asked, the only other place he could think of off the top of his head that Dib might go.

Gaz nodded her head. "Yes. I checked everywhere I could think of that he would go, Zim. It's almost like he just disappeared into thin air. I've been running all over town this entire morning." she said, honestly having looked everywhere.

A terrified look coming to his face, Zim couldn't help but panic even more. "Wh-What could have happened to him?" he instantly began pacing about the room, trying to think of what he could do to try and find him. "I'll take the Voot! I'll find him! I'll just scan the town for any Irken life signature! I can find him!" he reassured them he'd do everything in his power to locate Dib.

"I don't care what you do just so long as you find him, Zim! And soon! For all we know, he could have been kidnapped by some sick pervert! Or worse!" Gaz glared back at him as though it were his fault this was all happening.

"I'll find him! I'LL FIND HIM!" Zim didn't even bother to end the transmission before running away from the screen and up to the hangar to get the Voot. "...I promise. I'll find you, Dib...And I won't rest until I do..." he said more to himself as he started up the Voot and took off from the base to begin his search of the city.

Meanwhile, back at Jack and Rose's place, Dib sat up suddenly in his spot, letting out a short-lived scream before panting heavily, having had a horrible nightmare.

Having been in the kitchen getting a late night snack, Rose quickly ran into the living room where Dib was set up on the couch. "Dib, are you okay?" she assumed the worse before realizing it was just a nightmare.

Eyes wide as it took him a moment to remember where he was, Dib jumped a bit at her question before bringing up a hand to hold his head, groaning in some discomfort before responding back. "Yeah...I'm fine...It was just a nightmare..." he said between pants, shuddering and coughing into one hand. "Ow..." he brought his free hand up to his throat, finding it hard to breath or swallow as his morning sickness had begun to affect his throat, making it hurt.

Making her way over to where Dib was laying on the couch, Rose placed a hand on his forehead. "Oh, Dib. Are you okay? Do you feel sick again?" she asked, concerned.

Still holding his head, Dib closed his eyes at the feel of the cool hand on his forehead. "I-I'm fine...I-It'll pass in a little while..." he sighed out in a quiet whisper, his throat burning nonetheless.

Pulling her hand away after a moment, Rose then eyed Dib curiously. He had been there for a couple days now, and she had been hesitant to ask him too many personal questions. But she couldn't hold back any longer. "Dib...Are you an alien?" she asked, referring to his appearance.

His eyes snapping wide open and body tensing, Dib seemed to jolt at that question. "What? No! What makes you say that? Of course I'm not! There's no such thing as aliens!" he spat out, obviously panicking at this point. "I...I...Oh, God..." he suddenly got hit with another wave of nausea and leaned over the bucket, doing his best to keep himself from getting sick right then and there.

Shocked by the outburst, Rose took his nausea as just more panic. "Dib? It's okay..." she put a hand on his shoulder. "Jack and I just kind of figured it out...We're not going to hurt you..." she then squeezed his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

Face a pale white now, Dib looked back up at her after a moment. "But I'm not! I...I..." he wasn't sure what to do now or how to respond because he was technically a hybrid but had been born a human. Hell, he didn't even know whether he should admit to even that much at this point, not wanting to have to get into the details of how he had become that way.

"Dib, you're green...I'm not blind, and neither is Jack. It's okay." Rose smiled sadly at him. "We won't let anything happen to you." she promised, just thinking Dib was afraid they'd turn him in to the authorities for experimentation.

"But you don't understand! I wasn't born this way!" Dib's eyes snapped wide open and he gasped before instantly bringing his hands up to cover his mouth, not having meant to give away that information.

Giving Dib her full attention now, Rose took a seat down at the foot of the couch. "And how were you born?" she asked, curious now as to what he meant by that.

Realizing he had given out far too much information, Dib slowly removed his hands from his mouth to try and explain himself without admitting to being an alien. "Alright, look. I was born human. My father is the famous Professor Membrane. And this..." he reached into his trench coat pocket to pull out the picture of his mother for her to see. "...was my mother. See. Neither of them are or ever were aliens." he said, hoping she would just drop the subject there.

In a thinking pose now, Rose nodded as she looked the picture over. "Alright...But then why are you like this now? You said you weren't born this way...What happened?" she asked, wanting to know what Dib meant when he said that.

Not wanting to have to answer that because it would involve having to explain everything about Zim, Dib shrunk down in his spot a bit, refusing to make eye contact. "Th-That's...none of your business..." he looked away to the side, blushing, not meaning to sound rude but having no idea what else to tell her at this point without blowing Zim's cover.

Noticing Dib's uncomfortableness on the subject, Rose sighed, deciding it was time to change the topic. "So...Dib..." she glanced at him and then sighed again. "You know what, Dib? This is my third pregnancy...But you know, I bet you've noticed the lack of little children running around, right?" she sighed even heavier. "Every pregnancy I've had so far has been a miscarriage...Always around the fifth month too..." she looked back up at Dib. "I'm in my fifth month now...If it weren't for Jack...I would have given up by now...But I've always wanted children..." she placed a hand on her belly to rub soothingly.

Seeming to tense up even more at the topic of pregnancy, Dib's blush could only grow more as he continued to stare down at the ground for a few moments longer. "O-Oh...I-I'm sorry to hear that..." he finally lifted his gaze up to look at her again. "I-I hope you have better luck this time. Y-You're lucky to have somebody like Jack to help you through it though..." he tried to smile back at her, though it was fairly weak.

Smiling sadly at Dib again, Rose reached out a hand to place over one of Dib's. "Do you have someone special, Dib?" she then asked, able to tell by the look on his face that he understood how special hers and Jack's relationship was.

Smile falling away at that question, Dib could only drop his gaze back down to the ground, his antennae drooping. "...I used to..." his voice came out quiet as he closed his eyes and shuddered at the memories, trying to keep back the tears the best he could.

Sending Dib another sad look, Rose squeezed his hand a bit at that answer. "What happened?" she asked, wanting to know whether this special person had been the reason Jack had found him the way he was.

Bringing one hand down to hold his stomach, Dib had to use his free hand to wipe at his eyes now as he couldn't keep the tears back any longer. "I got mad about something that happened between us, and then I left. Because it was too painful to stay there. But it's just as painful staying away, and I don't know which is more painful." he stuttered out in a whimper.

"Oh, Dib..." Rose pulled him into a loose hug. "You'll never feel better until the two of you work it out...And you can't really do that if you're hiding out at our house, now can you?" she giggled a little, laying Dib back against his pillow before standing up to pull the blanket onto him and sigh. "Well, I need to go back to sleep now...But think about it, Dib...Do you really want to give up your relationship this easily?" she said, giving him something to think about before heading back to bed.

Sniffling wetly, Dib could only blink the tears out of his eyes at her words. He knew he didn't want to GIVE UP the relationship. He just didn't know how to fix it and make it work again. Once Rose had returned to bed, he then turned over onto one side and closed his eyes, wiping the last of his tears out of them.

Meanwhile, Zim's eyes drooped as he scoured the city. He hadn't been able to get anything on radar, and it took him all of the first night to realize Dib didn't have a PAK and therefore didn't give off an Irken signature. He couldn't help but continuously knock himself upside the head before breaking down crying. Ever since then, he had been searching on foot, resting on random benches and what not when he couldn't get himself to move any more. But he never slept, and he never ate. He didn't want to waist time doing such trivial things when he could be trying to find Dib.

A few more days passed, neither Zim or Dib getting much sleep until one morning Dib walked into the kitchen where Jack and Rose were having breakfast, antennae drooping and eyes red from a lack of sleep, their half lidded gaze focused on the ground. He had spent a day or two more thinking over what Rose had told him with little to no sleep and looked for the most part worn out now. He brought a hand up to wipe some moisture from his eyes, his morning sickness having eased up a bit, but not completely. "U-Ummm..." he raised his voice to address Rose and Jack. "I-I thought about what you said to me the other night..." he began, drawing both their attention to him.

"And I-I'm sorry about how rude I was to you the other night and for crying...B-But did you really want to know the reason I'm green?" he asked, feeling now as though he could trust them enough to tell them what had happened, knowing he owed them an explanation after everything they had done for him.

A/N: And there you have it. Last update of ZADR Orange for now. =3 Hope you guys enjoy the next week and a half without me. I already know I'll be missing everybody I talk to online. But that cannot be avoided. So yeah. I'll just have to try and distract myself from the horrible withdrawal symptoms, which I've already begun having even before my departure. ;3; Let me just quickly respond to the people who reviewed last chapter before I leave though. Then I'll talk to you all after I get back.

To Invader Krys: Ugh...Fanfiction wouldn't let me look at your review on the site. It kept redirecting me and not allowing me to exit the page that kept coming up. So sorry for the long wait on this. This will be the last of the spammage though before I leave. And don't worry about it. I can assure you, both Jack and Rose are VERY nice characters in this story. We needed at least SOME nice characters in it. Plus, they play a pretty big roll in the story overall. Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing so much today. ^^ I look forward to speaking with you again after my return from Alaska. So until next time~


	50. Chapter 51

A/N: Gah! Been so long since I last updated the story here for you guys! ;3; Sorry about that. Been so busy with my last semester of school, I just haven't been able to find the time for updatage like I wanted. So I'm sorry for the wait, you guys. I'll try to find more time to keep this story updated here like I wanted. But before I get to posting this next chapter of ZADR Orange, I have a few announcements to make. One: I will NOT be answering back reviews this week. No, this is not a permanent fix. I've just become so unorganized with the reviews, I can't remember who actually left a review on the last chapter and who didn't. Sure, I could look it up, but that'd take longer going through all those reviews just to find who reviewed on what chapters. So, just for this chapter, I'll be skipping the reviews. Call it a fresh start. I'll start answering reviews again NEXT chapter. Two: For those of you thinking of attending the next InvaderCon in July, we thought we'd let you guys know that both NGD AND myself WILL be attending. Both of us have already bought our tickets, NGD reserved our hotel room, and now we're working towards getting our plane tickets sorted out so we can meet at the airport and prepare. NGD WILL be running a vending table and we plan on having all sorts of ZO merchandise at the convention as well as some possible games. So I'll be sure to keep you guys all updated on our plans for the upcoming InvaderCon, this way you may have the chance to win some cool prizes and stuff. =3 THREE: And, going along with what I just said in two, I thought I'd just put it out there that both NGD and myself ARE taking art requests for prints of any ZO moments any of you would like to see made for InvaderCon. So if any of you would like to request a picture be drawn, please feel free to ask. These will also be going up on deviantart so even if you're NOT going to the convention, you can still request a scene from the story be drawn. This will be an ongoing thing until the time of the convention. So please, request away and we'll see what we can get done over the next 10 months. All prints will be up for sale at the convention and possibly even a DRAWING we plan on having for donations. That said, I shall now stop rambling and get on to presenting you guys with Chapter 51 of ZADR Orange. Much, much, much LOVE to all our readers, reviewers, people who add the story to their faves, and those who add the story to their story alert lists. We really appreciate you guys being so patient with us. For your patience, here be the next chapter and quite possibly, another chapter to follow later in the day/weekend.

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim/Rose: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Jack: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Eyes growing wide at Dib's words, Jack couldn't believe Dib was offering to tell them what had happened to him. Rose had told him she had asked about him being an alien, but he never expected Dib would admit to that. "Of course! If you want to tell us, that is..." he quickly tried to mask his excitement so as not to scare Dib away from telling them.

Turning his attention to Jack now, Dib seemed to hesitate momentarily. "Y-You have to promise not to tell anyone else." he didn't want this getting out to the rest of the world. The only reason he was even doing this now was because he trusted Rose and Jack and thought they could keep a secret.

Exchanging glances, both Rose and Jack then looked back at Dib and nodded simultaneously.

"A-Alright...W-Well...Y-You were half right about that 'being an alien' theory...B-But I'm still for the most part human! I-I mean...at least, I still feel like I'm mostly human...Y-You see, ever since the time I was 3, I believed in aliens. But nobody else would ever believe me. All my classmates and my dad's co-workers called me insane for the longest time.

"But then, one day when I was in the 5th grade, a new student joined my class, and I knew from the second I saw him that he was an alien. H-He had a really bad disguise on...B-But nobody else seemed to notice. W-Well, I hated him at first, and for five years I spent all my free time trying to expose him. U-Until our relationship changed one day...really recently actually. A-And he told me about a procedure he could perform to make me into a hybrid of our species and his.

"I agreed, but only because I had just had an argument with my dad! I-I looked like him a lot and didn't want to anymore, so I asked him to change me. But ever since that day, it's just been one disaster after another!" Dib's antennae drooped again and he felt the tears coming to his eyes once more.

Eyes wide, Jack could only stare at him for several long moments. "Oh, wow..." he slumped back in his chair, bringing a hand up to hold his head. It was a lot to take in all at once.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Rose exclaimed, both her and Jack looking concerned.

"So...Is the part about you being sick one of the disasters? Is it some sort of fatal alien illness?" Jack asked, assuming that it must be if Dib was so sick.

Tensing at the question, Dib blushed and dropped his gaze back down to the ground. "N-No...N-Not exactly..." he felt uncertain about whether he should tell them or not. "I-It is the reason I left him though..." he began playing with his fingers nervously, shifting about in his spot uncomfortably.

A little frightened by that, Rose leaned in closer to him. "It must be horrible! What did he do to you?" she asked, all her attention directly on Dib now.

Jumping a bit at her question and sudden closeness, Dib shrunk down in his spot even more as he couldn't bring his gaze up to meet either hers or Jack's. "I-I don't even really know myself...Things happened so quickly, I-I didn't have a chance to process what he was telling me...A-Apparently there are some...umm...anatomy differences between the males on his planet and the males on ours..." he felt at though his face were on fire now.

A little puzzled now, the two of them pulled away somewhat to lean back in their chairs.

"What kind of differences?" Jack was the first to speak up, raising one eyebrow at Dib.

Her own eyes wide, Rose could only stare at him as she began drawing upon her own conclusions. The thought had crossed her mind, but she figured it was impossible and had only thought of it because she was pregnant herself. "Are you..." she began but stopped herself to shake her head, smiling to herself. The very thought was absurd. "No...You...You're not...pregnant...are you?" she found herself asking him regardless of what she thought.

Eyes growing wide again, Jack could only turn to stare at his wife, wanting to say something before giving it some thought and realizing Dib did seem to have some of the same symptoms his wife had had a few months earlier. "Y-You are...aren't you...?" he didn't even wait for Dib to answer his wife's question, able to see the answer written all over Dib's face.

Dib just wanted to curl up and die in that moment from embarrassment. "H-He told me he thought it wasn't possible! Th-That I was human enough for it not to be possible! B-But I didn't even know that was an issue until he told me a week ago!" he finally exploded on them when both their gazes were fixed back on him, tears coming to his eyes.

"Oh, Dib..." Jack stood up to pull him into a tight hug, Rose following soon after. "It's okay..." he tried to soothe the sobbing hybrid.

Having completely broken down again, Dib was by now shaking with emotion. "I didn't want to believe him! So I ran out the moment he told me! How could he expect me to stay when I didn't even remember sleeping with him in the first place? All he could tell me was that I had been on a strong painkiller the night it happened and that I didn't remember anything the next morning when I woke up!" he hid his face away in Jack's shirt.

Stroking Dib's hair like a mother would, Rose dropped her voice down to a soft whisper now as she spoke soothingly to Dib. "Maybe he's telling the truth, Dib...Maybe he didn't know that would happen...And maybe he didn't know you wouldn't remember sleeping with him. People make mistakes..." she pressed a cheek to the top of his head.

"But he knew! He knew I didn't want to sleep with him at the time! I told him over and over again that I wasn't ready for doing something like that! I'm 16 for crying out loud! I'm not even out of high school yet! And now whenever I think of him, it hurts...because I don't know whether I can ever bring myself to fully trust him again..." Dib shook his head before breaking down even more.

Squeezing his shoulder, Jack tried to help steady Dib a bit more. "Maybe you were so out of it from the medications you told him you were ready." he said, trying to think of a reasonable explanation.

Dib could only shake his head at that though. "I didn't want things to go this way...I wanted it to be something special between the two of us! Not something I wouldn't remember in the morning! And I don't know what I'm going to do now in my current condition..." he tried to hold back some of his tears now, sniffling wetly.

"Dib..." Rose tilted his chin up to make him look at her in the eyes. "You know...No matter how hard things get or how angry or frustrated I might get at Jack, I would never leave him...because I love him. Even if we want to kill each other one day, we always find some way to make up. I think what you need to think about is not whether you can trust him or he's hiding something from you, but whether you love him and he loves you." she said, running her thumb across one of his cheeks.

Dropping his gaze away from her, Dib could only lower his voice down to a whisper at that. "Everybody keeps on telling me that...But I never said I didn't love him...I told him I couldn't ever stop loving him...But I have a right to be mad at least! And it's not like he can force me to stay there when I need some time to myself to sort things out!" he looked back up at her as he said that.

Nodding her head, Rose agreed he had a point. "True." she couldn't argue with Dib there.

"But...How long have you been gone? And...Did you even tell him where you were leaving to? He's probably worried sick?" Jack bit his lip, looking out the window.

Dropping his eyes back down to the ground, Dib shook his head. "I've...only been gone about 5 or 6 days...B-But he probably thinks I went straight to where my sister's been staying...I-It was the only place I'd think of to go...And I did...A-At least for the first night..." his sentence trailed off.

"Then what happened?" Rose asked, wanting to know how Dib had come to end up here.

"I-I had a fight with...with her new girlfriend..." Dib cringed. "H-Her girlfriend is an alien too...Th-The same species as Zim...A-And she was sent here recently by one of their leaders to kill Zim...Sh-She wouldn't stop picking on me though and blaming me for everything that happened...S-So I left...I-I just didn't feel comfortable staying there, especially when she kept threatening me if I threw up..." he said, recalling the morning he had left.

"W-Was this why you were in the park throwing up when I found you?" Jack asked, everything suddenly seeming to make a lot more sense in his head.

Nodding his head slowly, Dib continued. "I-I wasn't sure where else to go...So I went to the park and ended up getting sick in the bathroom there..." he explained, figuring they could piece the rest of his story together themselves at this point.

"Ohh, you poor thing..." Rose brushed a hand through his hair gently.

"I don't know if Zim knows I'm no longer staying with my sister and her girlfriend yet or not, but I want to go home...I don't want him to hate me forever for leaving..." Dib nearly choked out, having to hold back his tears again.

Pulling Dib into another hug, Rose went to say something when a knock on the door interrupted her before she could say anything more. She sighed. "Can you get that, Jack?" she asked, busy holding Dib close.

"Sure thing, honey." Jack nodded before heading for the door in the living room. Then, reaching forward a hand to open the door, he responded before even seeing who is was that was at door. "Yes, can I help-" he hesitated to finish his sentence when he saw an individual with green skin similar to Dib's leaning up against the door frame unsteadily. "you?" the last word came out delayed.

Eyes barely open, large, dark circles having formed under them, Zim stood there with tear stains all down his face. He was so tired he had to lean up against the wall to support himself as hunger had also made him too dizzy to even move in a straight line any longer, his vision doubled.

"H-Hello." he forced out, his voice sounding scratchy from having to repeat this speech to every door he came to. "I-I'm looking for my Dib. H-He's this tall, black hair...brown eyes..." he began but at this point finally broke down crying and let himself fall to the floor completely, convinced he would never find Dib.

A/N: And there you have it for now. Once again, just to remind you guys, I'm not answering reviews until NEXT chapter. So sorry for any inconveniences that causes any of you. But it's been so long, I just want a fresh start, not to mention I have a killer headache right now and don't want to deal with responses back. So, in the meantime, just enjoy the chapter and review if you'd like. I be off to take a short nap now. Maybe, if I'm feeling up to it later, I'll post another chapter later tonight. Just depends on what I have going on at that time. So until next time~


	51. Chapter 52

A/N: Ahhh...Such enthusiasm in your guys' reviews last chapters. o3o I suppose posting another chapter already wouldn't be too out of the question, given how eager you all seem for updatage. ^^ Besides, my headache is gone now and I can't sleep. So I might as well make myself useful and get another chapter up. =3 That said, here be Chapter 52 of ZADR Orange. ^^ Much love to those of you who faved or added the story to your story alert lists. And, as always, feedback be much appreciated. So we hope you all enjoy this next chapter. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Jack/Rose: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Eyes growing wide at Zim's collapsing onto the floor, Jack quickly knelt down next to him to sit him up carefully and hold him in his arms. "Hey! Are you alright?" he asked before deadpanning a moment, just then seeming to realize what the other had just said. "W-Wait a minute...D-Did you just say you were looking for Dib? As in Dib Membrane? Light green skin, 16 years old, wears a black trench coat Dib?" he listed off what he could think of to describe Dib.

Eyes perking open as alert as he could manage, Zim's voice shook as he brought up a hand to grab Jack by the front of his shirt. "Y-You've seen him? Wh-Where is he?" he demanded, his determination to find him back once more.

Smiling wide down at him, Jack reached down to take Zim's hand. "H-Hang on a moment!" he said before turning to call into the kitchen excitedly. "D-Dib! Dib, come out here! You too, Rose! Th-There's someone here for Dib!" he almost couldn't contain his excitement in that moment.

Pulling away from Dib at all of Jack's shouting, Rose could only look at Dib curiously. "Well, I guess we better go check it out, huh, Dib?" she said before smiling and taking him by the arm to walk with him to the door.

Nodding his head at her words, Dib followed her into the living room, eyes growing wide upon seeing Zim on the ground being propped up by Jack. "Oh my God! Zim?" he ran over to them, sliding to his knees next to Zim and taking hold of the Irken from Jack.

Unable to believe it, Zim could only stare up at Dib, wide-eyed. "I-I found you..." he smiled a little before letting his eyes close, falling very quickly into some much needed sleep.

Eyes growing wide with fear when the Irken blacked out on him, Dib held his prone body close. "Zim? Zim? Zim!" he began to shake him almost roughly, causing Jack to have to reach out and stop him.

"Whoa! Whoa, Dib! Take it easy! Calm down! He's going to be fine! He just passed out." Jack reassured the other, taking his hands in his own to stop Dib from shaking Zim.

Kneeling down next to Dib, Rose then placed her own hand on one of Dib's shoulders and smiled. "This is quite romantic." her voice came out soft as she shifted her gaze down to look at Zim.

Still in shock, Dib could only continue to stare down at Zim with perfectly wide eyes. "Th-This is my fault...I did this to him!" he looked back up at her, new tears streaming down his face. "This happened to him because of me!" he exclaimed, breaking down where he sat.

"Oh, Dib. How do you know? He's only sleeping. Just let him rest, and then you can find out what happened after he wakes up." Rose took him by the shoulders to pull him away.

Unable to take his wide eyes off of Zim's prone body, Dib nonetheless allowed Rose to move him back and help him to his feet as Jack scooped the Irken up and carried him over to the couch to lay him down and cover him up with a blanket.

Smiling sadly from her spot across the room, Rose then turned her attention back to Dib. "Now how about something to eat, huh, Dib?" she tried to coax him away from the sleeping alien, afraid to leave him alone with Zim in the event something else bad happened.

That being the last thing he wanted to do as he didn't want to have to leave Zim, Dib's antennae could only droop at that suggestion. "...I'm not very hungry..." he said in a quiet voice that was shaking quite a bit now.

"Dib, he'll be fine. You need to eat something though." Jack urged the other to come back to the kitchen with them.

Shaking his head, Dib tried to pull away. "But...But what if-" he began to protest just to be cut off by Rose.

"Dib!" Rose said in a stern voice so as to get his attention before dropping it back down to a more gentle tone once she had it. "You can't starve yourself, Dib. Not if you're carrying a baby. You need to eat even if you don't feel like it." she reached out a hand to caress his cheek lightly.

Smiling, Jack then stepped forward to pat him on the back. "Come on. We'll make you something special." he said, beginning to lead him back towards the kitchen.

Antennae drooping even more, all Dib could do was stare back at Zim as they lead him back into the kitchen to take a seat at the table.

Taking a seat across from him at the table, Rose then leaned forward a bit with a smile, resting her chin in her hands as she stared at Dib. "So, what would you like to eat, Dib? There must be something you're craving." she tried to probe Dib for an answer.

"Yeah, Dib. I'll make you whatever you like." Jack said, setting up at the stove to make whatever it was Dib wanted.

Merely sitting at the table, Dib kept his gaze fixed down on his lap. "I-I don't know..." he really didn't think he even COULD eat at this point.

"Oh, Dib. Come on. He's going to be fine." Rose reassured him, reaching forward a hand to place over his.

"And we still don't know if there is really anything wrong with him to begin with." Jack said, setting to work on making his and Rose's breakfasts as he waited for Dib to tell him what he'd like.

"But who knows how long he was out there searching for me! He could have been looking for me this entire time!" Dib sobbed into his hands, feeling so horribly guilty now.

"Even if that were the case, Dib, there is nothing we can do for him until he wakes up, and I don't think he'd want you to go hungry." Jack said, about ready at this point to just make something random for Dib to eat.

Wiping at his eyes, knowing Jack was right, all Dib could do at this point was slump down in his seat a bit. "But I don't know what I want to eat...I haven't craved anything since I left him..." he said, refusing to make eye contact.

Sighing at that response, Rose turned away from Dib to look back at Jack. "Then we'll just surprise you." she gestured at Jack to just make something for Dib to eat.

Sighing himself, Dib wouldn't even look up from where he was staring. "Okay..." he said before resting his head in his arms on the table.

Sighing at Dib's downtrodden mood, Jack could only shake his head and turn back to what he was doing, fixing up something to eat for all three of them.

It wasn't until after the food was cooked that Zim, still laying in the other room, began to come to, the smell of food causing his stomach to growl. "Mmm..." he whined quietly, still looking pretty horrible. But despite how he looked and felt in that moment, he couldn't help but force himself to stand when he heard his stomach growling louder, his legs leading him to the kitchen where Jack was busy passing out plates of food.

Lifting his head only after Jack had placed a plate of food down in front of him, it wasn't until then that Dib noticed Zim standing in the doorway. "Zim!" he pushed himself up onto his feet and ran over to where the other was standing, helping to hold him up when he began to sway a bit. "Zim...Are you okay...?" he asked, his voice dropping down to a whisper now.

A bit dazed, it took Zim a moment to answer Dib as he leaned up against the boy's body. "Yeah, yeah. I'm good..." he licked his lips, leaning even more on Dib for extra support.

"You should sit down, Zim...You look horrible..." Dib said, some concern in his voice as he lead Zim over to the table to take a seat next to him. "You should be sleeping...You can hardly walk..." he then said, pointing out to the other how unstable he was.

His stomach growling again, Zim could only moan a little however, wrapping his arms around it and snuggling up against Dib in his seat.

Hearing the Irken's stomach growl, Dib blinked his eyes wide open before grabbing a piece of toast off of his plate and offering it to Zim. "Zim, how long have you gone without eating?" he asked, wanting answers now.

Looking away at the question, Zim seemed hesitant to answer as he refused to even take the toast Dib was offering him. "I-I...haven't eaten since you left...And I haven't slept since I found out you were missing..." he said, voice coming out in a quiet whisper.

"Zim!" Dib narrowed his eyes on the other and shook him a bit. "That was nearly a week ago! Why would you do that? Are you TRYING to kill yourself?" he exclaimed, hands holding Zim beginning to shake. "How long ago did you find out I was missing?" he then asked, wanting to know how long the other had gone without sleep.

Feeling ashamed, Zim kept his gaze averted. "A-A day or two after you left..." he responded, flinching back as he knew what was coming next.

"What?" Dib reached up to turn Zim's head towards him. "Never do that again, Zim! Never! Look me in the eyes and promise me you won't do something so stupid ever again!" he demanded, looking Zim straight in the eyes and not letting him look away as he then continued in a softer voice. "Please...I don't want to be the cause of your death..." he seemed to beg the Irken now not to scare him like that ever again.

"I won't die..." Zim looked away stubbornly, avoiding promising, knowing he couldn't be sure this wouldn't happen again. Then, hearing his stomach growl again, he couldn't help but flinch as he thought he'd pass out soon from a lack food.

Taking this as his opportunity to cut in, Jack quickly moved in to change the subject before Dib could continue this conversation with Zim. "Would you like to eat with us, Zim? I can make another plate." he said, returning to the stove to grab another plate.

Looking up at Jack at the question, Zim then looked to Dib for his say so before answering.

"Zim, I'm not going to let you starve." Dib sighed before looking back at Jack. "He can't eat anything with meat in it though. He's allergic. He needs sugar, so something sweet would probably be best." he then looked back at Zim, refusing to let go of him just yet. "Zim, I want to hear you say it! I want you to tell me you won't do anything that will get you killed for my sake!" he refused to drop the subject until Zim promised him.

Nodding his head at Dib's words, Jack headed for the fridge to pull out some sweet desserts as Dib and Zim continued their conversation.

Avoiding Dib's eyes, Zim, however, looked away yet again before speaking. "I...can't promise that..." he didn't want to risk breaking a promise to Dib.

Eyes growing wide at Zim's words, Dib couldn't believe what the other was saying to him. "What? Why not, Zim? Why can't you promise me that?" he shook him some more, breaking down now. "If something happened to you because of me, I would never be able to continue living knowing it was all my fault!" he didn't want to think of what things would be like were Zim to die.

A/N: And there you have it for now. =3 Nothing much to say about this chapter so I guess I'll just get straight to answering your guys's reviews like I promised last chapter. And perhaps I'll post another chapter just a little later on. Maybe. We'll see. For now, however, here be my responses back to your guys. ^^

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Glad to hear you still do. :)

To kikidon11: Awww. Well we love you too for being so patient with us. ^^ Don't worry though. I'm going to try and get updates up faster again so you don't have to put up with too many cliffhangers. =3 In fact, here be the next chapter for you since you guys seemed so enthusiastic in your reviews today. We hope you enjoy and that the addition of this chapter doesn't cause you to have a stroke or anything. XD

To Mrs Inuyasha Kagome: Yes, yes. Poor Zimmeh searched for days on end and couldn't find a trace of Dibbeh anywhere. Thankfully, however, he has now stumbled upon Jack and Rose's house. So he and Dib shall soon be united again. =3

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD Yes, we are back. Though we never really left to begin with. Just been busy as hell. But like you said, we've had contact with you on DA. =3 And, because I was too impatient to wait and see, I should tell you that -I- was the one who had your request for the ZADR Art Exchange over on our ZO group. I'm not sure if you noticed, but I DID post your request in my gallery. It was for "Random, angsty, fluff." So you may want to check that out if you haven't already. ^^ As for the ZO site, the site is currently on standby, seeing as how NGD doesn't have a working computer. So you won't find anything new being posted there. Rather, she's posting new chapters in her DA gallery. So you may want to check that out as well. Of course, I'll eventually get to posting those chapters here of FF as well. But until then, you should know that the story is still being updated somewhat regularly now. =3

Heheh...If only things really were as simple as them having three smeets and living happily ever after. As a matter of fact, however, it is only really Red that's going to end up making their life a living hell. But you'll see what I mean by that a little later in the story. X3 We're closing in on that scene really soon over on DA. Jack and Rose were named by NGD though. And they weren't named after Doctor Who character OR Titanic characters either. It was completely coincidental that their names just happened to match those of TV/movie characters. Just ask NGD. She'll tell you herself why she named them that. And they most certainly WILL be staying friends with both Zim and Dib. We couldn't just get rid of them, so you'll be seeing plenty more of them in the near future. =3

Meh...I'm personally not much of a Doctor Who fan myself. Have several friends who are obsessed with the show, but I'm more old school. I don't take to newer shows quite so easily. I prefer the shows of my childhood. I find a lot of the TV today to be unoriginal and kind of boring. So I steer away from it. About the only new shows I DO watch are those on Food Network, just because I like watching food being prepared. It's calming to me. And all the Mary Sues and self-inserts in IZ fanfiction is the whole reason I stopped reading it. The only contact I have with IZ fanfiction is writing it myself because there are too many bad stories out there to sort through. There used to be some really great IZ writers, ones who I looked up to and pulled inspiration from, but nowadays, it seems the majority of them left the fandom because of IZtards who have no idea how to write a successful story. It's sad, really, that the fandom has fallen this badly. I miss the old days when there was less emphasis on OCs and more emphasis on the actual characters and real plot lines that make sense with the actual show. As for Danny Phantom, I haven't looked into that fandom much lately, though I feel I should draw some fanart for it. And Phineas and Ferb is alright too. (Not a big fan, but still better than a lot of the crap they come out with nowadays). Harry Potter I've only seen two of the movies for (and that was only because my friend dragged me with her). And well, I guess the only other fandoms I've been obsessive about lately are DBZ and OJ. I just finished rewatching all of the episodes of DBZ, which makes me sad because I didn't want it to end. But NGD just got me back into Osmosis Jones by showing me some of her most recent fanfiction. You should check it out. It's really well written and posted on DA. I don't know what it is about her, but she always manages to pull me in and get me fangirling over the weirdest pairings. Not that I'm complaining. I'm really glad she pulled me in. Now I can add one more thing to my list to make fanart for. X3

As for your question, I'd have to say I prefer Purple over Red and Miyuki over Spork. No real reason. I just do. So don't ask.

Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always. I'm so glad to see we haven't lost you over here. We look forward to hearing back from you again soon. =3 So until next chapter~

To InvaderSammeh: Well, hello, InvaderSammeh. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I do believe this is your first time reviewing here. =3 So allow me to thank and welcome you. We very much appreciate your kind review. ^^ As requested, here be the next chapter for you, so we hope very much that you enjoy it. =3 And we thank you kindly for the Gir-shaped cookie. ^^ Trust me, the suspense of this story will only continue to grow as the story goes on. But no need to worry. We don't plan on stopping this story until it's been completed 100%. So even though we may keep you guys waiting at times, you can rest assured that we haven't forgotten and we WILL eventually update the story. For now, however, we can hope I'll be able to better keep up with updates for at least a little while. So hopefully you won't be kept waiting long again anytime soon. ^^ I plan on making it up to you guys by posting as many chapters as possible. So we hope you enjoy the quick updates to come. =3 Thank you very much for reading and reviewing. ^^


	52. Chapter 53

A/N: Well, well, well. Will you look at that. One of my teachers decided to cancel class today. And since the other teacher doesn't give a shit about attendance, I've decided to go ahead and skip school today. So long as it doesn't affect my grade, I'm all for skipping out on classes every once in a while. Besides, I can give myself a private lesson later on. Before I do that though, I might as well update the story again. =3 Your guys' reviews have motivated me to update more often. ^^ So here is Chapter 53 of ZADR Orange. We hope you all enjoy it. =3 And, as I must say each and every chapter, much love to those of you who have faved or added the story to your story alert lists. =3 We very much appreciate that. Just as we appreciate feedback. =3 So please do keep it coming, you guys. ^^

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Jack/Rose: Both of us

Beta: Notgonnadie

Sighing at Dib's words, Zim could only shake his head, feeling defeated. "But I can't promise that! What if something was happening? What if YOU were going to get hurt?" he threw back at Dib, not wanting the other to speak that way.

"Zim, I'd rather get hurt than you get killed! Because I'd be as good as dead without you! Even now, you're the only one who's keeping me going!" Dib tried to make Zim understand the position he was coming from.

"Then why did you leave me?" Zim asked, looking away, not a hundred percent inclined to believe Dib at this point.

"Because I needed some time to clear my head! And maybe I would have come back sooner if you had told me beforehand that it was three and not one! How do you think I felt having to find that out from my sister and Tak? Or to even find out that they knew about all of this before I even did? You tell everybody else what you should be telling me!" Dib retorted, not feeling particularly guilty at the moment about having left Zim. How could the other have expected him to stay under such circumstances?

"I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! That's the only reason they knew! I didn't know...A-And then...Y-You left before I could say hardly anything..." Zim tried to explain to the other why he hadn't told him first about the smeets.

"Well, you should have just told me from day one what happened rather than keeping if from me for two months! Then maybe I wouldn't have run out like I had! You could have told me! Y-You didn't have to lie to me about it..." Dib's voice came out more hurt now, that earlier pain of Zim not trusting him enough returning to him.

Staring back at Dib with wet eyes, Zim sniffled wetly before nuzzling back into him, finding the boy's chest to hide in. "I wanted to tell you!...But...You said you had a dream...But it was really reality...And you didn't remember what you said...I couldn't tell you! You would have hated me!" he broke down a bit himself now.

"How could you know that if you wouldn't even tell me?" Dib asked, wrapping his arms around Zim and rubbing up and down his back before pressing his forehead to the Irken's. "I've told you time and again that nothing you could ever do would make me hate you...Nothing..." he closed his own eyes, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I love you too much..." he then said in a quiet whisper to the other.

Not having the strength to keep fighting with him, Zim could only nuzzle himself weakly into Dib, remaining silent. "I'm sorry..." he apologized for the first time since he had arrived there.

Sobbing against the other and nuzzling his wet face against Zim's skin, Dib merely sniffled wetly at the small apology. "I forgive you...But please...No more lying...And no more keeping secrets from me...Please just promise me at least that much..."he pleaded with the other not to put him through this again.

Pulling back from Dib, Zim nodded in agreement. "Alright...B-But...But then...I'd have to tell you more..." he didn't want there to be anymore secrets between them for the sake of their relationship.

"Well, all that telling can wait until you've eaten and had some more rest." Jack then cut in before either Zim or Dib could say anymore, setting a plate of sweets in front of Zim.

Glancing up at Jack, Zim could only cuddle up next to Dib more before staring at the plate of food a little unsure. "Thank you..." he thanked the man before digging in, too hungry to eat slowly or even really question the food at this point.

Smiling at how quickly Zim began downing the food, Dib couldn't help but sigh out more contently now as he leaned himself up against Zim and closed his eyes to rest. "Don't eat too quickly, Zim...I just got you back, and I don't want you choking to death..." he murmured out in a quiet yet tired voice.

Swallowing down what he had in his mouth, Zim couldn't help but blush a bit at those words before trying to eat the rest slower now.

Watching amused from their seats, both Jack and Rose merely continued eating their own meals at a much slower pace than Zim.

Meanwhile, having yet to touch his food, Dib rather dozed off against Zim, all the morning's excitement having worn him out completely. "Mmmmm..." he sounded out, out cold within a matter of minutes.

Finishing his meal up quickly and nuzzling the sleeping Dib, Zim then looked up at Jack and Rose. "Can we sleep on your couch?" he asked, knowing he didn't have the strength at the moment to carry Dib back home with him to sleep at his own base.

"Oh, sure. Here. Let me help you." Jack stood up to help Zim carry Dib out to the couch. "Need anything else?" he then asked once he had set the hybrid down on the soft cushions.

Shaking his head, Zim turned to look back up at Jack. "No. Thank you..." he thanked the man again before crawling up on the couch, half on top of Dib, half not so he could snuggle in to the blanket and fall asleep as well.

Smiling down at them, Jack nodded. "No problem..." he pulled the curtains over the windows in the room and turned out the lights before leaving them to sleep for a while.

His antennae twitching forward to curl around Zim's, Dib quickly located Zim's chest to hide his face away in as he slept. "Mmm...Zim..." the Irken's name slipped past his lips as he fell into a more sound sleep.

Having been wanting this since Dib had left, Zim purred and twitched his own antennae forward to catch Dib's, rubbing them up and down the sensitive stalks on Dib's head.

His entire body shuddering, Dib tensed suddenly at the feel before going completely lax against the other, his face flushing in his sleep from the pleasurable sensation.

Falling into his own deep sleep soon after, Zim merely continued to purr however, not realizing what this was doing to Dib.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Rose giggled from her spot at the kitchen table as Jack re-entered the room. "Oh, Jack. Aren't they adorable?" she asked, unable to help but laugh.

Taking his seat across from her again, Jack could only chuckle to himself, amused. "Well, it sure is something to watch them going at it. Kind of reminds me of when we were younger." he smiled at her, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on her lips before pulling back with a smirk. "It's almost like they were made for each other." he kept his forehead pressed to hers for a few moments longer.

Giggling again at the small kiss, Rose wrapped her arms loosely around Jack. "Just like us, huh?" she raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Yep...Now, who would you say I'm more like though? Zim or Dib? I already told Dib that he reminded me of you, but that was only because of the morning sickness." Jack laughed a bit to himself again.

"Hmm...Well, you do tend to do anything I ask you to do, and you do get a little over protective sometimes." Rose giggled a bit. "If we had to pick, you'd definitely be more like Zim, from what I've seen of him." she smiled wide back at him, eyes half lidded.

Smiling back at her, Jack could only lean in to kiss her a second time. "Well, Dib's a sweet kid, and he definitely reminds me of you. But he's kind of shy. I think that's something he'll grow out of when he gets older though." he said, remembering how shy Dib had been when they had first met.

"Let's hope so. The poor thing. He seems so insecure about everything." Rose dropped her gaze down to the table, remembering herself how he had acted when she had first introduced herself to him.

"Eh...Who isn't at that age? Besides, sounds like he's already been through so much in his lifetime. Far more than most people go through in 80 or more years of their lifetimes. I think I'd be pretty insecure too if I were a 16 year old boy and found out I was all of a sudden pregnant with an alien baby. But at least he has Zim now." Jack glanced back towards the living room where the two were sleeping.

"Yeah. It was pretty amazing how he showed up here..." Rose shifted her own gaze to where Jack was looking.

"Yeah...I think he was just going up and down streets, knocking on people's doors until he found Dib. Poor guy was so worn out though when he reached our house, he seemed to just give up all hope. I'm glad he found us though. Dib really needs him right now." Jack couldn't even imagine what Dib had been going through the past week without Zim.

Nodding her head, Rose leaned up to kiss Jack on the lips. "Just like I need you." she stared up into his eyes lovingly.

Smiling at the kiss, Jack leaned back down to plant a slightly longer kiss on her lips, breaking it after a moment or two. "I will always be here for you." he promised before pulling away slightly, his arms still wrapped loosely around her. "Well, since those two are sleeping, what do you say to a small nap of our own?" he asked, feeling just a bit tired out himself now.

Nodding, Rose yawned a bit at the suggestion. "A nap sounds wonderful." she smiled up at him, needing more rest the farther she got into her pregnancy.

"Good." Jack responded back, taking her by the hand to lead her towards their bedroom.

Hours later, back out in the living room, Dib shifted in his sleep, yawning and slowly coming out of his light sleep, bringing a hand up to rub at one of his eyes when he realized he had fallen asleep. "Hmmm?" he looked around, wondering how he had gotten from the kitchen to the couch in the living room. That's when he remembered Zim was with him. "Zim?" he sat up a bit more to have a look around.

Now having a little bit of food in his stomach, Zim didn't budge, content to sleep soundly for a while.

Having sat up all the way now, Dib found the other sleeping right there next to him on the couch and sighed out a bit relieved yet disappointed. "Oh...He's asleep..." he said quietly to himself, finding the house completely dark and quiet now. Stomach a bit choppy at the moment, he then wrapped his arms around his abdomen. "Ugh...Glad I didn't eat anything earlier..." he then whispered to himself quietly, the queasy feeling quickly subsiding.

Whining a little at the loss of Dib, Zim otherwise continued to sleep even after Dib had pulled away to stand up.

Just needing to stretch and walk off the slight bit of nausea in his stomach, Dib pushed himself up onto his feet.

It was a beautiful night out and one of the windows had been left open, revealing a sky full of bright stars.

Noticing said window as he paced back and forth, Dib quickly broke free of his pacing to walk over towards it, closing his eyes and sighing as a cool breeze brushed by him, making him feel slightly better now.

He really had slept for a long time. Staring up into the night sky, he then noted the full moon, the atmosphere outside all nice and quiet as most people were in bed now.

Passing his hand down to his stomach, running a thumb over it gently, he then looked down at it before shifting his gaze over to where Zim slept, fast asleep on the couch.

A/N: And there you have it for now. I don't have much to say about these following chapters so allow me to just get to the reviews for now. =3

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Glad to here it. ^_^

To kikidon11: Sorry, kikidon, but I do NOT give out URLs here on Fanfiction. The reason you haven't heard of a site is because I never gave one out on here. And I don't intend to. I PREFER you people continue reading the story on here. It keeps a more steady pace and allows our readers to take more in without being overwhelmed. Also, we ENJOY being able to talk to our reviewers. So the site is only offered to those who have DA accounts or who can find it on their own. But like I said, I'd really rather people didn't try finding the site. We lose reviewers that way and that's just something that kind of bugs me on some level because reviews are what keep us going on this story. We've already lost several FF readers to that site and even though some of them PROMISED to continue reviewing here, we never heard from them again the second they found the site. Hell, they didn't even review ON THE SITE! So I'm not giving out the site link any longer. NGD and I are two authors who enjoy keeping in touch with our fanbase. The second people stop responding to us, we feel less motivated to actually continue the story. Not to say reviews are the only important thing to us when it comes to this story, but it's a bit of a downer when we work so hard on something just to get no feedback. Illisandria only knows about the site because she has a deviantart account and knows both of us on DA. Not to mention, she is the ONLY FF reviewers who has kept her word about continuing to review here. But I never actually gave out the site to her. She found it on her own. Besides, like I told her in my last response to her, the site is on stand-by anyways. It's undergoing some technical difficulties due to NGD not having a computer at the moment AND it's not even a complete site yet. We're still missing chapters in the middle so you really wouldn't get that far on it. So I'd recommend just reading the story here when I update. I won't keep you guys waiting long if we have a fairly steady amount of reviews coming in each chapter. We'll probably catch up with the site before too long anyways if NGD doesn't get a computer to work with soon. So just be patient. Besides. It's nicer knowing you can come home to a new chapter here during different times of the week. It's almost like a surprise gift. :)

To InvaderSammeh: Awww. Well, thank you. ^^ We're very glad to hear you're enjoying our story's plotline. =3 And your love for the story makes us smile. ^^ You'll continue to be included in our review section if you just keep reviewing. So it's no problem at all. Thank YOU for taking the time to read and leave a review at the end of each chapter. We enjoy hearing from you guys. We really do. It's like the gas that keeps our creative engines running. ^^

To Invader hooniemay: Lol. XD Well, hello, Invader hooniemay. I do believe I have as of yet to welcome you. So welcome. =3 I'd like to thank you for both your review last chapter AND the review you left on Chapter 50 of our story. ^^ I'm terribly sorry it has taken me this long to get back to you. Been quite busy lately. But rest assured, we DID get your first review and appreciate your kind words very much, as we appreciate your kind words in this review. =3 We're glad to hear you're finding our story cute as that's what we're shooting for in this story. And we hope to hear back from you again very soon. So until next time~

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD Thank YOU for continuing to read our questionably tasteful plot. We're glad you're still managing to enjoy the story on here. =3 Though I couldn't understand what you meant when you said, "Goooooo Dib for telling your Zimmeh off for shiny a suicidal git!" Lol. XD I assume it's good though. XD

And I'll be sure to check my DA messages just as soon as I get the chance. =3 Just wanted to let you know that I DID finish though. XD I'm just a slow artist at times. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the end result though. I had a hard time deciding on what to draw for that one. XD Vague concept, but I made it work. So I'm REALLY happy to hear the wait was worthwhile. =3

As for the show Doctor Who, I still don't feel all that inclined to watch it. When I say old school, I mean old school for me, myself. I'm a child of the 80's and 90's. TV from the 60's doesn't really appeal to me because that's more my parent's generation and I just can't get into a lot of the show's they were into. Yet I can't get into the shows they come out with today either. So I just stick with shows that fall within the realm of mainly the 90's. It's like the show Speed Racer. They've done remakes of that show too. But I HATE that show with a passion. That was a show my mom was watching when she was younger. I find it one of the most boring shows on earth. (No offense to any Speed Racer fans, of course) So I can see why Doctor Who doesn't really appeal to me. And I really can't watch something I'm hell bent on staying away from. Sure, there are some shows I'll give a try with the thought that I'll hate them. But there's just something about Doctor Who that hasn't drawn me in enough to actually even give it a try. I think what pushes me away from that show most though is when people try to push me into it. I like finding shows that I'll like on my own. When people try to force it on me, then it just makes me not want to watch it even more. So, while I appreciate the suggestion, I just don't think that's one I can be forced into. Hell, I don't even see commercials for that show. So even though the whole world is raving about it, I could honestly care less about the show. So sorry. That's one show you'll have to find somebody else to fangasm over with. Same goes for Harry Potter. I won't say Harry Potter is BAD. But even after sitting through two movies, I wouldn't say I'm actually a FAN of HP. It never really drew me in. That was something my friends and family tried to force on me. Not something I picked up on my own. Hell, I could name a LOT of shows I don't like merely for the fact people tried to force them on me. It just kind of ruins the fun for me. Nobody forced me into IZ though. Nor did anyone force me into Osmosis Jones. And NGD's fanfiction skills only makes those shows even better for me. I rarely read fanfiction nowadays unless it's by somebody I KNOW is good at it. And in my eyes, NGD is one of the best. She really is. So I highly recommend reading what she puts out there. =3 She's hasn't posted much yet for the OJ fandom, but I'm urging her to post more of the fics she's been giving me sneak peaks of. And she wrote one flash fic for me that she posted on DA. Really good stuff. Makes me want to work on fanart for the fandom. =3

As for your question of the day, I'm afraid I don't really have a least favorite IZ character in mind. I can say I like some characters more than others, but I don't actually DISLIKE any of the characters at all. I think they all have their own unique qualities to them that can be brought out in a well written story. This even goes for non-main/secondary characters. I could find a story for just about any character in the IZ fandom. As for NGD's answer though, I'd have to ask her. But seeing as how her phone is now dead in addition to her computer (I'm certain you saw her last journals), communication between us may be limited for a while. So I can try to get back to you about it, but it may be a while before she gets my messages. Sorry.

Much love back to you for being our number 1 fan (Seriously, you are definitely the most loyal that I've seen so far) and we look forward to hearing back from you again soon. =3


	53. Chapter 54

A/N: Ugh...You know something I just can't stand about FF reviews. When people feel the need to whine and bitch about all the things they hate in a story just to say, "Oh, but I love it otherwise." Seriously. If all you people are going to do is point out everything you hate about the story, then don't even both reviewing in the first place. Now don't worry. I'm not talking about anybody mentioned in today's reviews. But we DID get a review from another girl on here for a different chapter of this story. I found her review to be very rude and not even worth responding to. She told us that the story was very whiny and stupid. Well, if you ask me, her review to us was very whiny and stupid. Honestly, we already know the flaws of our story. As I've said many times, this story is written for the fun of it, not for perfection. We're not asking people to point out what they hate about the story. Nor are we asking for any kind of criticism. All we're asking is for feedback on how you guys are LIKING it. So please keep your guys' comments fair when it comes to this story. We already acknowledge this isn't a story we're trying to make better or anything like that. It's just for FUN. Don't turn our review section into a war by pointing out all the apparent "flaws" you see in it. Because ZO is an RP, and we acknowledge at the beginning of each and every chapter, that yes, this story IS OOC. Can't deal with it? Then just don't read it. That said, allow me to update Chapter 54 of ZADR Orange for you all. And as always, we hope you guys enjoy. Feedback be much appreciated as are faves and adds to story alert lists.

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib/Rose: Me

Beta: Notgonnadie

Unaware of the gaze fixed upon him, Zim could only smile in his sleep, balling up in his spot on the couch. "Mmm..." he sounded out in his sleep comfortably.

Smiling back at him, Dib returned his eyes to his still fairly small belly. "Maybe...it won't be so bad after all..." he whispered to himself, looking back out the window. Knowing he wasn't ready to raise three babies let alone even one, he at least knew he needed to try, wanting to give them the best he could. "I guess we should start preparing..." he then whispered quietly to himself, hugging himself a bit.

Sleeping on, Zim remained out cold for the next several hours, leaving Dib to sit by a small bench near the window.

Staring out into the night until the first rays of sunlight began to peek out from behind the hills, Dib spent the majority of the night just watching the stars outside, something he hadn't done in a long time, all the while stroking his stomach gently. It wasn't until he heard Zim shifting that he shifted his gaze over to look at the other. Then, standing back up from his spot, Dib made his way back over to the couch to kneel down near the Irken, resting his arms right next to him, his head in his arms as he watched the alien sleep. Smiling, he then reached out a hand to stroke the others face gently, the feel of soft skin beneath his hand something he had missed in the days he had been gone.

Opening his eyes a crack at the feel of Dib's cool hand on his face, Zim stretched out a bit and yawned. "Mornin'" he then mumbled, still fairly tired out despite the long sleep he had just had.

Smiling down at him, Dib leaned in to nuzzle the Irken's neck gently. "Morning...Did you sleep well?" he asked, knowing the other hadn't slept for nearly a week.

Letting out another yawn, Zim stretched some more as he went to sit up in his spot. "Better than I have in the past week." he said before snickering to himself, knowing he hadn't slept at all then.

His antennae drooping a bit, Dib could only sigh at those words however. "...That's not funny, Zim..." he said in a whisper before hiding his face in Zim's shirt and tightening his grip a bit on his uniform, almost as though he were afraid to let go of him ever again, having truly been worried about him.

Smile vanishing, Zim then sighed also. "I know it's not, Dib...I'm sorry you were worried...but I was worried too!" he exclaimed, his only reason for not having slept being the fact that he had been searching high and low for Dib.

Flinching back a bit at the others yelling, Dib refused to meet Zim's gaze again. "Well, you didn't have to be...I was planning on heading back to your base yesterday right before you showed up..." he huffed out a bit.

A look of surprise coming to Zim's face at that bit of information, Zim could only stare wide-eyed at Dib for several long, silent moments. "R-Really? You were?" he then looked away ashamed. "...I'm sorry...I-I was just so worried..." he suddenly felt a little foolish for having handled the situation in the way he had.

Feeling tears springing back to his eyes again, Dib couldn't help but sob gently against Zim. "I didn't want you to hate me forever for leaving...Because I can't do this alone, Zim...I can't...And I didn't want to do what Gaz suggested when I first went to her..." his voice shook unsteadily.

"I could never hate you! Though I used to pretend to..." Zim tried to comfort his hybrid, wrapping his arms around Dib and pulling him close. "What did she suggest?" he then asked, curious now as to what advice Gaz could have possibly given him about the situation.

Hiding his face even more in Zim's chest, Dib could only shake his head against the other. "She said I should just abort them if I wasn't able to handle it! B-But I could never do that! I'm not a murderer! And it's not their fault any of this is happening!" he sobbed against Zim, reluctant to pull away anytime soon.

"Oh, Dib..." Zim pulled Dib close, holding him tightly. "I-I had the option to do that...wh-when I first found out...It wouldn't have hurt you, and you could have been asleep during the operation and never known..." he sniffled, holding Dib tighter as though the boy would disappear were he to let go. "I couldn't do it either though...I-I can't bear to watch you be in pain...But I can't get rid of them either..." his voice then fell down to a quieter whisper. "They haven't even had a chance to live yet." he closed his eyes, ashamed he had even thought to do it at first.

"I-I'm scared...B-But I never would have been able to live with myself if we had done something like that!" Dib trembled a bit in Zim's arms.

Smiling sadly down at Dib, Zim merely rubbed up and down on Dib's back. "Then we have only one problem...How to make sure you'll be okay." he said, knowing it would be painful for Dib no matter what they did.

Lifting his head to send Zim a more serious look, Dib then glared a bit at the Irken. "Well, how exactly do the males on your planet give birth then? Because up until you said anything, I wasn't even aware that there was any difference in my anatomy that would make that physically possible!" he blushed, having been too embarrassed to even explore his new anatomy any closer after Zim had told him he was pregnant.

"Well, as far as I can tell, it's a lot like human females." Zim kept as serious a look on his face as Dib. "Once the eggs are ready, you'll lay them from your slit." he then poked Dib, trying to be more lighthearted now. "Right between your legs..." he pointed to where his slit would be.

Feeling anything but lighthearted in that moment, Dib's face could only light up a bright red at those words, his eyes wide as he gulped. "What slit?" he knew he would regret asking, not even realizing that he had such a thing on his body to begin with.

His own eyes growing wide, Zim blushed himself. "O-Oh...You, um...didn't know you had one?" he swallowed nervously. "Uh...Well, you do...Um...I could show you...if you want..." he looked away to make sure nobody else was around, blushing even more.

"I don't want to see it!" Dib stopped the other before he could do anything, shaking his head violently, his blush only deepening as he pulled the blanket over his head to hide under, so horribly embarrassed now.

Blushing uncontrollably now, Zim quickly scooted in to wrap an arm around Dib again. "...I could show you where it is at least..."he said quietly to the other, knowing Dib would have to have a better grasp of his new anatomy by the time the smeets came.

"No! No, no, no, no, no! I don't want you to show me where it is! You already told me so just drop it already!" Dib refused to listen, gripping the blanket tighter, no longer wanting to come out from underneath the blanket. He was beyond embarrassed at this point.

"O-Okay...I'm sorry." Zim apologized, taking hold of the covers to try and pull them off of Dib's head. "We can talk about something else if you want..." he offered to change the subject, sensing how uncomfortable their current conversation was making Dib.

Not wanting the other to see how red his face had grown, Dib pulled back when he felt Zim trying to remove the covers from him.

"Oh, come on, Dib." Zim giggled a little. "Let go of the covers." he tried even harder to yank them off of Dib.

Not at all amused by any of this, Dib, however, could only scoot back even more. "No!" he held them tighter by his sides, refusing to let Zim get even one side up.

"Come on, Dib...You don't have to hide from me. You don't have anything I haven't seen before." Zim tried to coax the hybrid out of his hiding place.

But Dib could only stiffen even more at Zim's words, pulling away a bit more when he felt Zim's hands trying to remove the covers once again. "Perver-!" he got cut short, tumbling to the ground with a pained yelp when he reached the edge of the couch.

"Eep!" Zim squeaked, jumping off the couch immediately to help Dib. "Dib? A-Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where are you hurt? Did you break something? Irk, you did, didn't you? What did you break? Don't move! Zim will call an ambulance! AHH! I can't! We're aliens! Wait! But you're half human so...Wait! The smeets! Are you okay?" he panicked, not knowing what to do.

Unable to answer any of Zim's questions in that moment, Dib just laid there, trying to catch his breath as he sobbed, having temporarily knocked the wind out of himself, causing him to gasp for air.

Rubbing the sleep out of one of her eyes and yawning, that's when Rose tiredly entered the room to see what all the yelling was about. "Hey, what's going on in here?" she asked in a tired voice.

Still spazzing out, Zim paced in a circle around Dib, yanking at his antennas. "Dib is down! Dib is down!" he kept running back and forth next to Dib, not knowing what to do in his current state. "Pick him up? No, he could be injured! Heimlich? No, not choking! Gah! Diiib!" He yanked even harder on his antennas, frazzled.

Watching Zim for a few confused moments, Rose then walked over to where Dib had fallen and helped him to sit himself up slowly and carefully, removing the blanket from over his head and pulling him into a gentle hug. "There, there...You're fine..." she wiped the tears from Dib's eyes as he slowly began to calm again.

Stopping in his tracks, Zim stood back now, silent, feeling slightly embarrassed and stupid at how he had reacted to the other falling off the couch.

Unable to help but let out a small giggle at the look on Zim's face in that moment, Rose smiled more encouragingly back at Zim now. "You really should learn to remain more calm about things like this, Zim. It's not very helpful to Dib if you panic." she said, knowing Zim was just jittery now that the reality of Dib's pregnancy was hitting them.

Ashamed, Zim could only drop his eyes to the floor however. "I-I'm sorry..." he apologized, not having meant to make such a big deal out of nothing.

Merely smiling back at him, Rose couldn't help but continue as she held Dib closer. "You know, you remind me a lot of Jack back around the first time I told him I was pregnant. He was so overprotective, but throughout the years, he's learned to not sweat the small stuff so much." she knew Zim would mellow out some as the pregnancy progressed.

Scuffing at the floor with his feet, Zim couldn't bring his gaze back up to look at either of them any longer. "Y-Yeah..." he said, almost unsure.

"Don't worry, Zim. The way you're acting is perfectly normal as a first time father. But trust me, things will get easier a little further into the pregnancy. The hardest part is always the beginning with all the morning sickness. At least...I think..." Rose tried to cheer him up despite only knowing about up to only the fifth month or so.

A/N: And there you have it. I'm in a bit of a hurry to get this posted so I can get to some online spring cleaning, So I'll quickly answer reviews now and then hopefully come back later to clean out my FF profile a bit. It feels a bit...unorganized at the moment, like a lot of other things. So until next time, you guys~

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: So very glad to hear it! 8D

To kikidon11: Thank you for understanding, kikidon. ^^ I noticed you made a DA account though and added me. =3 If you'd ever like to talk outside of reviews here on FF, do feel free to send me a message on DA. =3 I'm on DA often enough, after all. Though, the account you watched of mine has been a bit inactive as of late. If you'd like me to PM you my currently more active DA account, please let me know. =3 I upload a lot of ZADR art there. It's what I like to call my "Drama-Free" account because of all the shit that goes down on my other account. DA can be such a drama-intense place sometimes. I need an account I can escape to every once in a while to enjoy what that site should REALLY be about. The art. It's why I joined in the first place. That's why I gotta keep this drama-free one under wraps for a while. I figure, seeing as how you're new, it couldn't hurt to tell you where I'm really hiding most of the time on that site. XD And I know already that you'll more than likely appreciate the ZADR art I post. =3 I'm glad to hear the updates here brighten your day though. =3 Just for that, here be another quick update. ^^ So we hope you enjoy and look forward to hearing back from you really soon. =3

To InvaderSammeh: Lol. XD Well thank you. =3 We appreciate your kind words each and every chapter. ^^ And we hope you'll enjoy this next chapter update as well. It seems like so long ago we first started writing this story. I'm glad we've managed to draw in at least some keepers who will continue to read despite our choppy chapter updates. XD Anyways, much love to you for reading and reviewing. Until next chapter~

To Mrs Inuyasha Kagome: Lol. XD Well, you know. I actually know somebody on DA who posted a picture of that scene from our story. X3 Even animated the stars so they sparkled. I don't know why it is so many people seem to like that filler scene, but I'm not complaining. XD Thanks for reading and reviwing. We look forward to hearing back from you again soon. XD

To Illisandria Carthain: Lol. XD Well, trust us. As questionable as some of our plot points may be, they DO all have a purpose. Things will start piecing together more in the near future.

And don't worry about the late review. XD I have another day off school today so I have plenty of time to update this story again. =3

Meh...Thanks for the suggestion but no thanks. I don't really care whether the OC is realistic or not. I just plain don't support CannonxOC pairings EVER. It's just a pet peeve of mine when people insert CannonxOC pairings into a story. And what some people might think realistic, I still see as being mary suish just for the fact that they're even trying to self-insert a character like that whom one of the cannon characters falls in love with. It just kind of ruins the original universe for me. I can understand OCs so far as serving as extra characters. But not serving as love interests. In cases such as that, I find the plot line to become less than believable. So while I appreciate the suggestion, I'm going to have to take a pass. Sorry. ^^;

Moving on, we're glad to hear you enjoy the way we characterize Rose and Jack. =3 We needed two characters who could kind of serve as the glue holding together Zim and Dib's relationship. They bring an element to the story that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to achieve had Zim and Dib been going through this alone. =3 Not to mention, they're just a cute couple to play around with. X3 And they've come a long way since we first decided to add them to the story. We've developed them to a point where we can hardly imagine ZO without them. =3

Thanks again for alway taking the time to read our story. And, as always, we can't wait to hear back from you next chapter. ^^ (P.S. NGD got back to me about your last question. Her least favorite character is Gir. Hope that satisfies your curiosity. )


	54. Chapter 55

A/N: Alright. Let's see. It's been...one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, EIGHT months since I last updated this story here. Wow. You guys must hate me for taking so long to update this story again. But, for the record, a lot of shit went down during those 8 months that I'd really rather not get into on here. To keep things short and sweet, let's just say that NGD and I had a bit of a falling out with each other during that time away and are no longer in any sort of contact whatsoever.

I assume some of you may have heard rumors about this falling out over on DA, but just to set the record straight, I have NOT stolen ANYTHING from NGD, which is the rumor she started about me. -I- was the one who put all my time and effort into converting our script role play to a narrative format, and -I- was the one who made this fic available for you guys to read in the long run. NGD can baww to as many people as she'd like about me "stealing" this fic from her. It's not true though. I worked my ass off on this fic. I have every right in the world to continue posting it. Especially after how she tried to claim the entire thing as her own, saying to me, and I quote, "You didn't do boo-fucking-hoo on this fic." Yeah. Right. I guess all the hours I put into re-writing it for posting equates to not doing "boo-fucking-hoo" in her book. But whatever. -I- know how much time and effort I put into this fic and that's all that really matters. And despite everything that happened, I -STILL- give her credit for what she did do, even though she didn't want to acknowledge my work on this fic. Thankfully, her attempts at reporting me for theft have proven pointless. She has no evidence I stole anything and as such, I shall continue to post this story, even if I have to finish up the ending on my own.

On a side note, you guys can look forward to faster updates now. And by faster, I mean HOURLY updates as opposed to weekly or even daily updates. As things stand now, I'm just trying to catch this story up to where it originally left off (before NGD had a cow about it the first time and forced me to delete the entire story from DA) So yeah. Hopefully these fast updates will more than make up for the 8 months of inactivity.

I want to thank those of you who reviewed this story in my absence. I REALLY appreciate your guys' kind reviews. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to respond to you all at this moment. So, come next chapter, I'll pick back up on responding to you guys. This is just one of those rare chapters where I won't leave feedback to you at the end of the chapter. Sorry about that. Chapter 55 of ZADR Orange is here though at last and I'll see how many updates I can get in today as I work my way towards building this fic and its fanbase up again. =3

Also, I graduated from college this semester! X3 So I should finally have plenty of time to be getting back to all my fics on here! 8D *Dances* Looking forward to continuing my currently ongoing fics. =3

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Still feeling a little bit unsure about all of this despite Rose's words, Zim could only nod his head slowly, blushing a bit as his antennae drooped and he realized he had completely forgotten his disguise back at his base when he had fled the house to find Dib. "Y-Yeah..." the word left his mouth shakily. He didn't really care that he was out of disguise, but he knew Dib would. "So...Are you okay?" he then asked, directing his question at Dib.

Still quite embarrassed himself, Dib could only lift his eyes up to look at Zim before dropping them back down to the ground and responding in a quiet voice. "Y-Yeah..." he nodded his own head slowly.

Rose smiled even more. "Wow, you two certainly are both shy!" she said before ruffling Dib's hair a bit and helping him back to his feet to take a seat on the couch.

"Zim is not shy..." Zim blushed, taking a seat next to Dib.

Rose smiled back at him. "Oh? Well, I'm sorry then. You are rather quiet though." she pointed out, Zim having hardly said a word since she first walked into the living room.

Zim looked away. "Zim has...not much to say..." he said rather uncomfortably, not used to having conversations with anybody other than Dib.

Standing up straighter, Rose then straightened out her back before bringing a hand down to place over her belly. "Well, that's fine. I'm certain you'll be too busy listening to the babies anyways. In fact, I assume you could probably hear their heartbeats already if you wanted to." she smiled, remembering how she and Jack had been able to hear their own baby just a few months earlier.

Zim's antennas perked up. "Heartbeat?...But...They are eggs." he looked confused, starting to doubt himself just a little bit more at that comment.

"Hm? Well, how far along is he? I believe I was at the end of my second month when Jack and I could hear the heartbeat on an ultrasound. Though I suppose it may be different for an alien baby in an egg."

"Uhh...Three-ish? I think..."

Merely sitting back listening to their conversation, Dib pulled his legs back up onto the couch to curl up on one of his sides, hugging his abdomen. "Ugh...How long does the morning sickness last?" he joined in on their conversation after a moment, wanting to know how much longer he'd have to suffer through all this.

"Well, it can last up to the fifth month...It just depends."

Curling in on himself even more, Dib groaned. "I don't know if I can put up with another 2 months of this...I've reached my limit. I want it to stop..." he sobbed to himself lightly.

Reaching out to rub his back comfortingly, Rose sighed. "This will pass too...You only feel that way because of all the hormones, Dib." she tried to calm him, knowing he would start to feel better about all of this soon enough.

Feeling useless, Zim looked away.

Noticing this, Rose then reached out to take Zim's hands, pulling him closer to Dib and wrapping his arms around him. "You stay with Dib, Zim. He needs you right now. In the meantime, I'm going to go get breakfast started." she smiled at him before standing up to head into the kitchen, leaving Zim to comfort Dib alone.

Still sobbing gently to himself, Dib, after a moment, then turned over to hide his face in Zim's side to continue sobbing against him.

Oddly quiet, Zim could only hold Dib tightly and begin rubbing up and down his back gently. "I'm sorry...for all of this." he apologized, never having wanted Dib to go through this.

Sniffling and nuzzling his face even more into the Irken's side, Dib could only scoot in closer to Zim. "I love you..." the words sounded shaky coming from his mouth.

Zim's eyes watered up. "I love you too...So much..." he rubbed his antennas against Dib's.

"Then don't leave me...Not even for one second..."

"I promise. I'll never leave you..."

Swallowing thickly, Dib then continued. "A-And don't leave them either..." he said before reaching down a hand to his stomach to stroke it.

Eyes still wet, Zim smiled at those words. "I swear, I'll never leave any of you..." he pulled Dib into a deep kiss. "You are mine, Dib. All mine, and I love every bit of you..." he said, lapping at Dib's bottom lip one last time before licking his own lips.

Calming a bit now, Dib sighed into the kiss. "I don't want the smeets to grow up like I did..." he looked away to the ground, antennas drooping now.

Nuzzling more into Dib, Zim then licked his cheek sweetly. "I'll never let that happen..." he didn't want their smeets to be in the same situation Dib had been in with his father.

"I may not have wanted them so early in life, but I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to have kids someday...A-And I just hope you weren't either. I hope that you weren't just saying what you said because you knew I was pregnant..."

Zim shook his head furiously. "Of course not! Every Irken DREAMS of having their own smeets...But naturally born smeets are so rare, hardly anyone gets that wish fulfilled..." he then smiled, nuzzling Dib. "I was just lucky..." he breathed out against Dib's antennae.

"How did they become so rare on your planet? Reproduction doesn't seem to be all that different from the way humans reproduce."

Zim shrugged. "I'm not really sure...But for some reason, it's very hard to get pregnant or to keep the baby once you are..." he tried to at least give Dib an idea of how reproduction worked on his planet.

"Do you think my being part human had something to do with why it was so easy for me to get pregnant then?" Dib looked back down at his stomach, giving it another gentle stroke.

"It might have...Honestly, I thought it would make it even more impossible because human males don't get pregnant...But..." Zim placed a hand on Dib's belly, rubbing it gently. "Maybe your human genes made it possible." he really had no idea how Dib had so easily gotten pregnant when it was so hard for his own species to do so.

"Is it normal to have so many all at once? Because humans don't usually have so many. Even having two is rare, let alone three."

"Well, when it DOES happen, it's about an average of six eggs at a time...So three is a very small number in comparison...But I think that would work to our advantage. With less eggs, there is a better chance of them all surviving."

Closing his eyes, Dib rested a cheek in Zim's lap before opening them back up halfway. "Will it hurt a lot?" he knew he had to ask the question, unable to imagine having one, let alone three.

"...I don't know, Dib..." Zim sighed. "Y-You remember when I said...that I was afraid to have sex with anyone?" he asked, glancing down at Dib.

Looking back up at Zim, Dib nodded his head slowly. "Y-Yeah...I remember..." he wasn't sure whether he liked where this conversation was going anymore.

"Well...The only reason I was scared...was because Zim did not want to carry smeets...Every Irken dreams of having them...But I was afraid that I would end up being one of the special cases where I could get pregnant...And on Irk, because of my height, I would have had to be submissive if I ever had more than foreplay...So, I just refused..."

Dib's antennae drooped a bit. "A-And so that's why you wanted me to be bottom...J-Just in case...Wh-What if you had been with a female? W-Would it have been any different?" he asked, wanting to know whether height played a role in any of the heterosexual relationships on his planet.

But Zim could only smile at that question, shaking his head. "Zim has no interest in females, Dib. I never have, and I never will." he snickered to himself at the thought of being with a female.

Seeming to deflate a bit at that information, Dib could only sigh and sink his head down into his arms in Zim's lap. "I almost wish you had...I don't know if I can do this, Zim...I mean, there's no going back now, b-but I just don't see how I'm going to be able to do this...I wasn't born female. I wasn't built for this kind of thing. And yet, I wish I had been now because maybe this all would have been so much easier if I had..." he closed his eyes, feeling slightly defeated.

Zim ran his hands through Dib's hair. "Dib, no matter what gender you are, it's going to be hard...But you're strong. I've seen you at your best and at your worst. You can do anything." he said, leaning down to kiss Dib on the forehead.

"But I'm at my worst right now, aren't I? If I were to puke right now, I don't even think I'd have it in me to get up and get to a bathroom."

Zim kissed Dib's head again. "That is why you have me to carry you there..." he smiled wide down at the boy.

Dib let his eyelids slip closed tiredly. "Before long, you won't even be able to do that because I'll gain lots of weight and be too large to carry anywhere..." he pulled his knees up to his chest, yawning tiredly.

Petting Dib gently, Zim smiled. "Good thing Zim is strong. And if all else fails, I still have my PAK legs..." he pointed a thumb behind himself at his PAK.

"Mmhm...Maybe you can just leave me in the bathroom for the rest of my pregnancy..." Dib mumbled, antennas curling back to press against the back of his head as he began to doze off on the other.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 55. Like I said in my above A/N, I'm not going to be responding to reviews this chapter. However, should I get any for next chapter (given you haven't all given up on me), I'll definitely respond to you guys. Talk to you all in a few hours~ I hope...


	55. Chapter 56

A/N: I won't bother with long ass A/N's every chapter now that I'm going to be posting up chapters a whole lot faster, so yeah. If I have anything of importance to say in the future, I'll be sure to let you guys know. Otherwise, you guys can just enjoy chapters without A/N's from now on.

ZADR Orange Chapter 56

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Watching the other doze off on him, Zim chuckled, stroking Dib gently. "I'd rather have you in bed next to me." he said, almost seductively as he ran one finger down the side of Dib's body.

"Mmmmm...Not if I'm constantly sick and having to go pee you wouldn't..."

Zim giggled. "If you can handle it then I can handle it." he said, pressing even closer to the hybrid.

Soaking up what warmth he could from Zim, Dib had by now drifted back off to sleep contently.

Feeling tired just watching Dib sleep, Zim then yawned, deciding he was going to go back to sleep as well. Getting comfy, he then leaned against the couch, starting to doze off minutes later.

Walking into the room to check and see if they wanted any breakfast, Rose was surprised to find them fast asleep. Smiling, she picked up the blanket from the ground and placed it gently over them. "Sleep tight..." she whispered, turning off the lights again and heading back to hers and Jack's bedroom to see if he was awake yet and ready for breakfast.

Meanwhile, back on the Massive, Tallest Red tapped his fingers angrily against the arm of his chair. 'What is TAKING her so long?' he thought to himself impatiently.

Entering the room that Red was in, Tallest Purple instantly seemed to pick up on the others irritation. He had been acting like this for the past couple of weeks, though it wasn't until now that he decided to address it. "What's the matter with you?" he asked, rather unimpressed with Red's recent moodiness.

"Nothing!" Red snapped irritably.

Purple glared at Red for having snapped at him for nothing. "I'm serious, Red. You've been acting like this for weeks. What's wrong?" he asked, coming up behind him to snake his arms around the other. "If you tell me, maybe I'll do something extra special just for you." he smirked seductively.

"I'm not telling you." Red refused to tell his co-ruler what the problem was, completely SMASHING Pur's hopes of having sex tonight.

Purple narrowed his eyes even more on Red at that response. "Well, fine then! Don't tell me...But at least come to bed with me tonight. I want to try again." he said, having been trying to get pregnant for the longest time, something that was becoming increasingly more difficult now that Red had resorted back to his previous isolation again, hardly coming even anywhere near Purple or even touching him. Of course, he had had trouble before then, but that didn't mean he couldn't at least continue trying.

"I'm not in the mood, Pur. Why do you even want smeets anyways? It's not like you'd be able to take care of them."

Releasing Red, Purple pulled away a bit. "I would so be able to take care of them! You're just saying that because I've never gotten the chance to even try! And the only reason I haven't gotten a chance to try is because you'll barely even touch me nowadays!" his antennae slicked back.

Red growled. "There is more to life then having sex with you, you know!" he barked back at the other, slumping down in his chair even more.

"Oh yeah? Like what? I haven't seen you do diddly squat in the past several weeks! All you've been doing is sitting in that chair, staring at a blank screen! At least having sex with me would be more productive than THAT! And besides! It's not like I'm asking you to do something we do every single day! The last time we had sex was over a month and a half ago!"

"And you certainly show it..."

"What on Irk is THAT supposed to mean? Huh? HUH?"

Red sighed. "Nothing, Pur. Just go back to sleep." this was the last thing he wanted to be dealing with.

Antennae drooping, Purple sighed himself before looking away to the side and muttering underneath his breath. "You never want to come to bed with me anymore..." the words left his mouth in a defeated manner.

Sighing again at those words, Red merely continued to stare at the blank monitor as he had been doing this entire time.

Back on Earth, Zim kissed Dib lightly, waking him up. "Dib? It's time to go..." he whispered in a soft voice to the sleeping boy. They had been mooching off of Rose and Jack for over a week now ever since Zim had showed up on their door step. The two humans, of course, had no problems with this themselves, but Zim and Dib both felt bad about making Jack and Rose take care of them. So they had agreed that after a short nap, they would say their good byes and head on back to Zim's base.

Not ready to wake up yet, Dib groaned, turning over onto his side tiredly. "Mmmmm...Just five more minutes..." he mumbled, not nearly as awake as Zim was.

But Zim just laughed a little. "Come on, Dib. You can sleep more when we get home." he poked Dib's belly, which had gotten bigger by now during their stay.

Letting out another small whine, Dib batted at Zim's hands blindly, trying to keep him away from his stomach, which had been on and off with nausea, though mostly on when certain foods were being cooked. To his relief however, he had been starting to feel slightly better recently and able to eat more.

Sighing, Zim leaned down to lick the side of Dib's face. "Wake up." he tried again to coax the other out of his sleep.

Scrunching up his face at the small lick, Dib slowly blinked his eyes open to peer up at Zim.

"Morning, sleeping beauty."

Yawning tiredly still, Dib brought a hand up to rub some of the sleep out of his eyes. "Mmm...What time is it?" he asked, closing his eyes again and pressing into Zim comfortably.

Zim glanced over to check the clock on the wall. "Four thirty p.m." he said, ready to get going at this point.

"Then it's not really morning, is it?" Dib reached up a hand to poke at the tip of one of Zim's antennae as a form of revenge for poking his stomach earlier.

Twitching his antennae back, Zim pouted. "So? It's still time to get up." he looked away, blushing.

Unfortunately for Zim, while his appetite had gotten slightly better, Dib's moodiness had gotten worse over the past week or so as he often snapped at Zim about even the tiniest things just to apologize several hours later, a result of his hormones raging now. Sitting himself up slowly, he sighed. "Fine...Fine..." he said in a somewhat irritated fashion.

Unsure whether the other was about to go off on him again, Zim leaned back away from Dib. "Ready to say good bye?" he quickly changed the subject, letting up on his own attitude just a bit.

Antennae pressed against the back of his head falling back down to droop a bit, Dib caught himself before he could get mad at Zim again. "Y-Yeah...Sorry..." he brought a hand up to hold his head for a moment, trying to collect himself. "I guess I'm just tired still..." he apologized for having snapped at the other somewhat.

Zim smiled lovingly at him. "It's okay, Dib. I love you." he repeated those three words he said to the other every time he apologized for getting moody.

Nuzzling into Zim, Dib sighed contently. "Do you want to pick up dinner on our way home?" he asked, completely disregarding Zim's words in favor of food.

"If you want." Zim said happily.

"Okay then...I'm really hungry right now. Can we get...Umm...Chinese take-out? I think there should be something on the menu that you can eat. Unless you feel like something else. I don't really care. I'm just hungry."

Zim shook his head. "No, I like Chinese." he smiled. "Let's just say good bye, and then we'll get as much as you want." he offered, knowing Dib was eating for four now.

"...So you're leaving then?"

Looking up, Zim noticed Rose entering the room. "Yeah. We need to get back home." he nodded.

Rose smiled sadly. "Alright then. Let me just get Jack in here." she said before leaving the room to get Jack, returning a few moments later to find Zim helping Dib to his feet. "Oh, I'm going to miss you both so much!" she pulled first Dib into a tight hug and then Zim. "But you will keep in touch, won't you? And come visit us often?" she asked, not wanting them to just drop out of their lives like that.

Zim laughed a little. "Sure. Why not? Maybe we'll bring our smeets when they hatch." he said with a big smile, hugging Dib close.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 56. Now, returning to your guys' reviews:

To SkyDrops: You're welcome for the update. Thank YOU for keeping up with this story. =3 I'm sorry it took me so long to continue it here on FF, but I'm going to try and stay more on top of things from now on. =3 Hopefully the hourly updates will more than make up for how long I kept you guys waiting. Well, until my next update~


	56. Chapter 57

ZADR Orange Chapter 57

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Laughing a bit himself at Zim's suggestion, Jack could only nod his head in agreement. "Please do." he urged them to do just that once their smeets were hatched.

"And call us if you need anything at all. We're more than happy to help you with whatever you need."

Dib smiled back at Rose. "Thanks so much for everything. A-And you'll call us too if you need anything? And when you have your own baby?" he asked, pulling away once she had let go of him.

"Oh, we'll be sure to visit."

Zim laughed at that information. "Then you better know where we live." he pulled out a pen and piece of paper from his PAK, writing down his base's address on it.

Taking the paper from Zim, Jack smiled. "Thanks." he thanked Zim before then turning to face Dib so he could pull the hybrid into his own warm embrace. "You two take care now." his voice came out quieter as he held Dib close for a few moments.

Already backing his way out of the house, Zim waved one last time to them. "You too." he was ready to get going with his Dib.

"We will." Jack said before letting go of Dib so he could leave with Zim.

Dib smiled back at him cheerfully. "Bye." he waved one last time at them before walking over to where Zim was waiting.

Wrapping one of his arms around Dib once the hybrid had approached, Zim then escorted him the rest of the way out of the house. "You're wonderful, Dib, you know that...?" he said, just so happy now to be back with his hybrid.

"Hmmm?" Dib looked back at Zim, confused. "What makes you think that?" he asked, not seeing what Zim saw in him that was so wonderful.

"What wouldn't?" Zim asked, smiling. "You just are." he assured the other, staring into his eyes lovingly.

Blushing at the compliment, Dib then looked back down in front of himself as they walked. "Th-Thank you...B-But I'm really not that great...I-In fact, I'm far from it." he said, shyly playing with his fingers now.

"You're just modest, Dib. You're the world to me..." Zim kissed him gently, wrapping his arm even more around him as they walked so as to pull closer.

Staring down at his feet shyly, Dib's blush could only deepen even more at Zim's words.

Feeling great in that moment, Zim smiled even wider. "So, you're still hungry, right?" he said, not wanting to forget about getting Dib his food.

Lifting his gaze, Dib looked back at Zim. "Yeah...Starving." he said, placing a hand on his growling stomach.

Zim smiled. "Chinese?" he asked as he started leading Dib towards a Chinese restaurant he knew of not far from where they were.

Face lighting up, Dib smiled back at him. "If you really don't mind. Though I'd be good with whatever we got." he said, not particularly craving any one food at the moment.

"No, Chinese is fine. Any place in particular?"

Leaning up against Zim tiredly, Dib hid his face in the Irken's neck. "Mmm...Wherever's closest..." he said, hearing his stomach growl again at him as he was beyond starving now. He didn't care where they went just so long as they went there soon.

Smiling a little at that answer, Zim blushed when Dib nuzzled up into him. "Well, I think there is one restaurant just down the block. Want to eat there or go home?" he asked, unsure whether the boy could last that long.

"Hmmm..." Dib seemed to give it some thought before deciding. "I think we'd be better off eating it at home." he said before leaning up to pull one of Zim's antennas into his mouth and give it a small tug, reminding the other that he wasn't wearing his disguise.

"Oh...Ahaha...Right." Zim blushed, flicking his antennas. "So, we'll just grab something and go then." he then grinned, taking Dib's hand and leading him down the street towards the restaurant faster.

Dib smiled in a satisfied way. "Sounds good to me...So, what are you getting? Cause I feel like something with noodles in it." he hugged himself, smiling happily at the thought of finally getting to sit down and eat.

"Noodles are great. Just no meat." Zim said as they arrived at the restaurant and bought their food, taking the boxes once it had been prepared for them, and exiting the establishment with a lot of food in hand to continue the rest of their trip back to Zim's base.

Looking down at the boxes of Chinese food they had bought and then at his stomach, Dib sighed, his antennae drooping slightly. "Eating all this food is going to make me fat..." he poked at his stomach lightly, not used to the concept of himself gaining so much weight all at once. "I never had to worry all that much about my weight before, so I hope it will drop off easily after the birth." he sighed, not wanting to carry the extra weight of three babies for the rest of his life.

"I'm sure it will." Zim smiled, leading Dib into the house. "Besides, Irken's are naturally skinny...And Dibs are naturally skinny. There should be no problem." he didn't think Dib would have any problems dropping the extra weight after all this was said and done.

Dib could only sigh again, however. "I hope so..." he then looked back at Zim. "How much do you think I'll gain considering it's three smeets?" he then asked, having a hard time imagining it himself.

Zim shrugged. "I have no idea...A single egg is an average of 5.4 klicks...or 6 pounds in Earth measures..." he said, trying to give Dib at least an estimate.

Dib groaned at that bit of information. "Ugh! 18 pounds, Zim? How am I going to fit into my clothes if I gain 18 extra pounds?" he exclaimed, already noticing his clothes becoming just a little bit tight on him.

Zim's eyes grew wide. "Well...I guess we'll just have to go shopping then, huh?" he smiled nervously at the other as he set the food down on the kitchen table. "But for now, let's just eat, okay...?" he didn't want either of them to have to be worrying about this now.

Taking a seat at the table, Dib could only sigh. "Okay..." he suddenly didn't feel all that up for eating.

Zim just smiled. "Don't worry, Dib. Just enjoy your meal. Eat as much as you want." he urged Dib not to let the weight gain get to him too much.

Dib looked back up at Zim. "Would you believe that I'm not as hungry as I was a few minutes ago? B-But I'll still eat." he said, reaching out to take one of the containers of food, opening it before looking around in search of something."H-Hey? Do you have any sugar around here?" he asked, looking about for it on the table, lifting boxes up to see if it was behind any of them.

Covering his mouth to keep from laughing, Zim couldn't help but crack up a little at the request. "Of course we do." he said, going to the cabinet and pulling out a large sugar dispenser. "Here you go." he handed said dispenser to Dib.

Taking the sugar from Zim, Dib then proceeded to sprinkle it all over his noodles. "Thanks..." he thanked the other before handing it back to Zim once he had finished sugaring his food and giving it a good toss to mix it in. Then, taking a few bites, he went ahead and slurped up a good portion of his noddles into his mouth. "Mmm..." he stopped upon noticing that the Irken was watching him. "Hm? A-Aren't you going to eat? It doesn't have any meat in it." he said, pointing back at the boxes of food with his chopsticks.

Laughing some more, Zim shook his head at the way Dib had some noodles hanging out of his mouth still. "Sorry. Yeah, I'm going to eat. I was just watching you." he sat back down and pulled up a plate of noodles for himself, putting some sugar on them as well.

Blushing a bit at those words, Dib quickly returned back to his own food after a moment to take a few more bites. "These are actually really good with sugar..." he said shyly between bites. "How is yours?" he then glanced back up at Zim.

Zim slurped up some of his own noodles into his mouth before answering. "Good." he smiled back at Dib reassuringly.

Dib smiled back at him. "Good. I'm glad." he said, scooping a few more bites into his mouth before stopping to swallow and look down at the half empty container of food. "I should probably stop now..." he poked at his food. It wasn't so much that he wasn't hungry, but he just didn't want to be puking this all up in the morning.

"Dib, I know you don't want to gain weight, but you need to eat to feed the smeets. Plus, it's not even your weight anyways. It's theirs."

Dib looked back up at Zim. "But it's not about the weight. I just...don't want to have a full stomach when the morning sickness hits again tomorrow morning or whenever it decides to pop up again." he stuck out his tongue in distaste.

Zim smiled. "Well, you haven't thrown up in a few days, but that does make a lot of sense. How about you let your spooch digest that then come back for more." he suggested, not wanting Dib to get sick from eating too much either.

Setting the food aside for the time being, Dib nodded his head. "That's only because I've hardly eaten anything in the past few days..." he sighed, resting his head in his arms.

Zim's antennas fell. "Yeah...I'm sorry..." he sighed also, setting his fork down.

"It's not your fault...Don't stop eating on my account."

"No, it's okay." Zim smiled. "I'm not that hungry. I can wait." he said, having promised himself he wouldn't let Dib go through this alone.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 57. =3 Until next time~


	57. Chapter 58

A/N: Alright. So I have a small announcement to be made before I get around to posting up this next chapter. For those of you interested in reading this story over on DA, the account to look it up under is Dib-The-Hybrid. NO, the DA version is NOT ahead of the FF version. HOWEVER, due to my fear of FF deleting this story because of its sexual content, you should all know that DA is your best option at the moment for finding the more adult versions of these chapters. Of course, the majority of these chapters are PG-13. However, on occasion, I'll post up altered chapters that are NOT PG-13. As things stand now, this next chapter is the PG-13 version. If you want to read the adult, M-rated version of Chapter 58, you'll have to look up the DA version. It's not a full on sex scene in this chapter, but there IS enough sexual content in it for me to fear FF deleting the story. And, as always, I refuse to take that risk.

ZADR Orange Chapter 58 (PG-13 Version)

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

To say the very least, Dib wasn't very happy with Zim's words. "No! No, really, Zim! Please. Continue eating. For all I know, I may not feel like eating again until late at night when you're asleep. I don't want you waiting that long just to get out of bed so late to eat with me. I'd rather you ate now until you're full. That way you're not having to eat on my schedule." he urged the Irken to continue eating without him.

But Zim could only shake his head. "I'm fine, Dib. I don't need to eat that much." he smiled more convincingly at the hybrid.

Dib sighed again. "Okay...But if you get hungry, a-and don't feel like waiting for me to get hungry, promise me you'll eat." he wanted to know that he wouldn't be the cause of Zim starving himself again.

"I promise, Dib." Zim smiled, wrapping an arm around him, his smile faltering though as he had a feeling they had forgotten something, though he couldn't remember what.

"Good." Dib leaned up against him, nuzzling into him affectionately and yawning.

Zim smiled. "Ready to sleep in a real bed again?" he asked, knowing Dib had spent around the last two and a half weeks sleeping on a couch.

Peeking up at Zim with a smile on his face, Dib nodded his head. "Just so long as you keep your clothes on this time...I don't need anymore surprises to deal with in the morning..." he teased the other, yawning again. "...I think I'll take a warm bath in the morning..." he then murmured, no longer speaking to Zim but to himself.

Wrapping an arm around Dib, Zim laughed as he walked into the elevator with him. "I promise." he said, agreeing to keep his clothes on while they slept.

"Gooood..." Dib slurred, sleepily supporting himself against Zim as the other walked him over to the bed to lay down on.

Laying down next to Dib, Zim then pulled the covers up over the two of them. "Good night, Dib." his voice came out soft as he wished the boy sweet dreams.

"Mmmmm...Nighty night...Zim..." Dib responded back, by now already more than halfway asleep, curling up underneath the covers with Zim. Antennae twitching slightly, they soon fell back to rest comfortably against his head as he drowned in a sea of warmth all around him.

Cuddling up to Dib, Zim smiled before slowly beginning to doze off himself.

It wasn't until the next morning that Dib slowly began to wake up on his own for once, no nightmares, conversations, or sweet kisses doing the job for him. "Mmm...Wh-Where...?" he began to question himself about where he was but stopped, remembering that he was no longer at Jack and Rose's house."O-Oh yeah..." he slowly sat himself up to have a look around the dark room, no windows there to spill in light and give him an idea of what time it was.

Still asleep, Zim mumbled before wriggling closer to Dib now that he had sat up.

"Hmm?" Dib felt the movement next to him and looked down at Zim. Sighing, he smiled down at the other before leaning in to place a small kiss on his head. "Don't mind me..." he said in a whisper, pulling up a pillow to place near Zim so the other wouldn't realize he had left. Then, standing up, he proceeded to head for the bathroom so he could take that warm bath he had been talking about the previous night before falling asleep.

Not noticing that Dib had left, Zim smiled in his sleep, cuddling up to the pillow Dib had left next to him.

"Well, look who came back."

Having totally forgotten about Zim's computer, Dib jumped a bit at the voice. "D-Do you have a problem with that?" he glared up at the ceiling, their last encounter not having been the best.

Acting like it was about to say something, the computer rather shrugged it off. "Whatever...Who cares..." it said in its usual bored voice, not even bothering to say anymore to Dib so early in the morning.

Not having been expecting that response, Dib blinked confusedly up at the computer. "Errr...Okay then..." he continued making his way to the bathroom, closing the door behind him before stripping down and taking a seat at the edge of the tub to start himself a bath. As he waited for the tub to fill, he then made his way over to a full body-length mirror that was in the room and gave himself a good look over, running his hands over his slightly extended belly.

Meanwhile, walking towards the bathroom, Gir giggled as he dragged his pig along. "I make you all shiny, clean, piggy." he said as he passed through Zim's bedroom.

Not hearing Gir coming as he turned this way and that, Dib tried to imagine what he'd look like when he gained that extra 18 pounds. Tilting his head to one side, he looked down again, remembering what Zim had told him about giving birth to them. The Irken had told him there was a slit between his legs, but he had been too shy to try and find it himself when he had been over at Rose and Jack's place.

Meanwhile, back out in the bedroom, Zim cracked his eyes open upon hearing Gir enter the room. "Gir, what are you doing?" he asked, almost suspiciously.

"Oh, hi, Master. I was just gonna give piggy a bath."

Zim growled. "Not in MY bathroom, you're not! Use the main one if you have to!" he ordered, pointing out the door.

Gir's little antenna drooped. "Oh-kayy..." he walked back out of the room, still dragging the pig with him.

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Zim sighed before looking up to see Dib was missing. "Dib?" he called out the other's name in the empty room, looking around confused. "Where could he be?" he asked himself before sighing again and getting out of bed to go looking for said hybrid, deciding to check the bathroom first.

Zim knocked on the door gently. "Dib? Can I come in?" he asked from his spot outside the door.

Jumping at the knock on the door, Dib scrambled to wrap the towel around himself. "U-Ummm! J-Just a second! Don't come in!" he answered back before finally managing to tie the towel around himself. "O-Okay...You can come in now..." he gave Zim the okay to come in, blushing as he held the towel tightly to himself.

Opening the door a second time, Zim eyed the towel as he walked in. "What's with the towel?" he asked, not realizing at first how shy Dib was about being naked in front of him.

"N-Nothing! I mean...I-I was just getting ready to take a bath...I-Is that alright?" Dib asked, unable to meet Zim's gaze as his blush deepened, squeezing his legs together tightly. "U-Umm...Wh-When did you get up?" he then asked as he imagined he would have heard the other coming.

Knowing why Dib must be embarrassed, Zim looked away. "Yeah, it's okay...I just woke up...And I didn't see you. So I was worried..." he explained, not exactly answering Dib's question.

"O-Oh...W-Well, you didn't have to worry...I-I said I was going to take a bath when I woke up."

Zim laughed uneasily. "Sorry. I must have forgotten...Umm, I-I'll just go. You can finish your bath now..." he said, getting up to leave and allow Dib some privacy.

Cheeks tinted a light pink now, Dib finally lifted his gaze up to look at Zim. "A-Alright...Thank you...I-I think that would be best..." he said, waiting for Zim to leave the room completely before sighing and dropping the towel back down to the floor so he could step into the tub and sink into the warmth of the water, scrubbing himself thoroughly.

Heading back to the elevator, Zim then made his way back upstairs to make breakfast, or, in this case, heat up dinner FOR breakfast.

A/N: And there you have it for the PG-13 Version of Chapter 58. =3 Now to get to your guys' reviews~

To InvaderSammeh: Lol. XD Well, I'm glad my graduating and picking back up this story was able to make you so happy. I'm sorry to have kept you guys waiting so long, but I'll hopefully be able to keep up with much faster updates now that I'm out of school. ^^ Do hope you can handle all the updatage to come without blowing up the entire world. Lol. XD

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Well, hello there. Long time no see~ Glad to hear you're still loving the story and finding it awesome. =3 Thanks for your devotion~

To SkyDrops: I'm glad our story was able to leave such an impression on you, especially if it WAS the very first ZADR story you ever read. =3 Most people have to sort through random ZADR stories first before finding ones that they truly enjoy. So I'm glad you came across ours first. I'll do my best to keep this story going strong from start to end. It deserves an ending and if you can keep up with me until I reach that ending, your dedication to the story will be truly appreciated~

To The5000livi: Well, hello there~ Don't be ridiculous. You do NOT suck at reviewing, and I'm always very happy to hear from any reviewers we may get. =3 I'm glad this story was able to surprise you some with the Chinese takeout, and I hope the development of Zim and Dib's relationship continues to play out in an enjoyable fashion for you. =3 More chapters will definitely be soon to come. So you're welcome for the update. ^^ This story has plenty more surprises in store for you guys, so do keep your eyes peeled for updates. =3 Until then~


	58. Chapter 59

ZADR Orange Chapter 59

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Mind elsewhere, it was at that very moment that Zim's computer brought his attention back to the present. "Master, you have an incoming call." it informed him.

"Who is it?"

"ZIM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Gir says you're home now! WHERE'S DIB?"

"AHHH!" Zim jumped, startled by the sudden yelling as he ducked underneath the blanket that was still on the couch from when Dib had left him.

Gaz glared at the lump under the covers on the couch. "Answer me, Zim! Where the hell is Dib? He better be there with you!" she continued to bark at Zim, having been worried sick the past two weeks since Zim had left to search for Dib.

Zim peeked out from under the covers. "H-He is. He's taking a bath." he said, sending her the slightest glare.

Gaz didn't let up on her own glare. "Well, as soon as he's done, bring him straight over here! We have work to do, but we need him here to do it!" she instructed him, having been talking with Tak about how they were going to go about getting blueprints for the incubation tubes they'd be needing.

"Work? What work?"

Gaz let out a frustrated sigh. "Are you really that stupid? Haven't you even given it one moment of thought what you'd be doing with those eggs once they're laid?" she brought the issue to his attention.

"Uh...W-Well..." Zim stuttered. He actually hadn't thought of it at all, having been too worried about finding Dib himself. He never even considered what would happen when he laid the eggs.

Gaz took Zim's lack of a response as her answer to that question. "I thought so...Now, get your asses over here before I come over there and drag them here myself!" she ordered, not wanting to be kept waiting too long.

"O-Okay...We'll be over after breakfast..."

"Well, hurry! The sooner we get this all worked out, the better! Who knows how much longer we have before he goes into labor with those smeets!"

Zim could only glare, however. "A few more weeks at least." he knew they still had at least some time to prepare before Dib gave birth.

Gaz narrowed her eyes on him. "And if Tak actually DOES manage to convince your leaders to send us the blueprints for the incubation tubes you'll be needing for those smeets, how long do you suppose we'll actually have to build them? We'll be needing every second we can get!" she knew that even with blueprints, building the incubation tubes wouldn't be as simple as it seemed. Not if the actual blueprints were so heavily guarded.

Zim's eyes became wide. "G-Good point. We'll be right over." he knew that taking on such a project would indeed take at least a few weeks to complete.

"Well, make it quick!" Gaz instructed him before cutting the transmission, causing the screen to go blank.

Fully clothed in a fresh change of clothes, it was at that very moment that Dib exited the elevator and looked about the empty kitchen. "Zim?" he walked into the living room to find Zim standing in front of a static screen. "Zim?" he said again as he approached the other from behind. "Wh-Who were you talking to?" he asked, having heard an exchange of words coming from the living room as he had entered the kitchen.

Without warning, Zim snapped to. "DIB! We need to hurry and eat! We have to get to Tak's base to contact the Tallest for some blueprints for when you have the eggs!" he exclaimed all at once.

Jumping at the sudden outburst, a bit startled, Dib took a few steps back before blinking at the other confused. "B-Blueprints? Blueprints for what?" he asked, completely lost now.

"Incubation tubes for the eggs! If we don't make some, they won't survive!"

"Wh-Wh-What? B-But...Why didn't you tell me this before? There's no time for breakfast! Let's just go over there right now then!" Dib grabbed Zim by the wrist and began dragging him towards the door.

Not arguing with that decision, Zim followed Dib out the door. "I didn't know! Your sister just told me!" he said, not having meant to keep something so important from Dib.

"Well, I'm not about to just let them die! Hurry!" Dib urged Zim to run faster, tugging him along as he broke into a fast jog towards Tak's base, one hand stroking his stomach nervously as he ran, as though that alone would keep them from dying.

Doing his best to keep step with Dib, Zim panted on the outside, but on the inside, felt so proud of him, wanting to do anything he could to make the hybrid happy right then. "There it is!" he shouted as they approached Tak's base.

Lifting his gaze up as they approached closer and closer to Tak's base, Dib then shifted it back to look at Zim. "D-Do you promise not to fight with Gaz while we're here?" he asked, wanting nothing more in that moment than for the two of them to get along while they were there.

"I'll do anything for you, Dib." Zim pulled Dib back into a quick kiss before turning to face the door. "Ready?" he then asked, wanting this meeting to be as stress free for Dib as physically possible.

His eyes growing wide, Dib blushed at the small kiss before looking away to the ground shyly and nodding. "Y-Yeah...I'm ready..." he said as Zim knocked on the door, taking in deep, calming breaths all the while. "T-Tak and I had another fight right before I left though...D-Do you really think she'll agree to help us?" he asked, voice shaking as he nervously played with his fingers and waited with Zim.

"I hope so..."

"Of course she would. It was her idea."

"GAH!" Zim turned to look behind them at Gaz. "Why are you out here?" he had expected she would be the one answering the door for them.

"I was just heading out to get you."

"Gaz!" Dib pulled away from Zim so he could pull her into a warm embrace, having truly missed her in the two weeks he had been gone.

"Hey!" Gaz was about to shove him away when she rather sighed and wrapped her own arms around Dib as well. "Yeah, I missed you too..." she admitted, a little annoyed nonetheless.

Allowing Gaz to gain back some of her personal space, Dib pulled away after a moment or two. "So...T-Tak's still willing to help us? E-Even though I got in a big fight with her and she probably hates my guts now?" he had a hard time believing she would want to help him after a few of the things she had said during their argument.

Gaz merely rolled her eyes at that question. "Tak hates everyone's guts, but that doesn't mean she wants the smeets to die." she said, fairly certain she had figured Tak out by now in the time they had spent together.

Dib could only sigh however. "She told me when I left that she didn't care what happened to me or the smeets..." he said, fairly convinced by the way that she had said it that she had meant it.

Gaz sighed herself. "She was stressed out, Dib, and you weren't helping matters much." she said, shoving past Zim to open the door. "Come on in." she gestured for them to follow her inside.

Allowing Dib to enter before himself, Zim smiled hopefully.

Wanting to argue back that Tak had started the whole thing by threatening him if he threw up but deciding he wasn't in the mood to get into another fight with anyone at the moment, Dib walked in slowly behind her, gaze fixed on the ground below him. He wanted the least amount of contact with Tak as possible. So, taking a few steps back once he was inside, he then proceeded to hide behind Zim, out of sight of Tak.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up." Tak glared at Dib hiding behind Zim. "Ready to contact the Tallest?" she asked, all business now as she had prepared a case in the weeks Dib had been gone for why the Tallest would be required to send them the blueprints.

Not responding to her question, reluctant to even talk to her, Dib's antennae rather fell back to press against the back of his head as he glared back at Tak.

Sensing Dib's tenseness, Zim reached back to take Dib's hand, giving it a small squeeze for reassurance. "Of course we are." he never once took his gaze off of Tak.

Antennae perking at the feel of Zim's hand grasping his own, Dib slowly began to relax again, giving it a small squeeze of his own to let the other know he was ready for this.

"Okay. Come on. I'll key in the coordinates." Tak approached the wall in the living room and tapped in a long code into a keyboard that flipped out of the wall as a large section of the wall slid away, revealing a big screen with the Irken symbol on it and the word 'connecting' underneath it.

Meanwhile, on the Massive, Tallest Red was becoming fed up with waiting for Tak's call. "WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG?" he finally slammed his hands down on the arms of his chair.

"My Tallest. There is an incoming transmission from Tak."

"Really? Wow, that was cool. Connect us."

The technician saluted. "Yes, Sir." he returned to his station, setting to work on connecting the call to their main screen.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, as they were all waiting for the transmission to go through, Dib looked over at Zim to whisper something quietly to him. "W-Will you get in trouble with them for turning me into an Irken in the first place?" he asked worriedly, running his thumb up and down on Zim's hand as a way of calming himself down, especially considering Zim's leader (or at least one of them) hadn't liked him all too much the last time they had met.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 59. =3 Now to get to your guys' reviews~

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: I'm happy to hear you guys are happy about my plans. =3 Thank you for reviewing each chapter. I really appreciate that. Until next time~


	59. Chapter 60

ZADR Orange Chapter 60

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Squeezing Dib's hand back as the screen connected to the Massive's communication signal, Zim could only shake his head slowly at the others question. "I hope not..." he sighed, really not knowing how the Tallests would react to the news.

"Wha- ZIM?" Tallest Red glared at Tak when the first sight to meet his eyes on the screen was Zim. "Why is he still alive?" he pointed accusingly at Zim.

"Well, my Tallest. If I killed him, I would be breaking the law."

"Law? What law? The only law you should be worried about breaking is MY law! And my law is for you to kill Zim!"

His antennae shuddering and drooping, Dib could only shrink back behind Zim a bit at Red's words as he squeezed the others hand even tighter, truly scared now for Zim's life and that he wouldn't agree to help them with the smeets.

"I'm sorry, my Tallest, but this law overrules your own. It is one of the old laws...You see...Zim is a father."

Eyes growing wide at those words, Red looked first at Zim and then at Tak and then back at Zim again, not once noticing Dib's presence. "With you?" he asked, pointing at Tak, his face one of confusion in that moment.

"WHAT? NO! THAT'S DISGUSTING! WITH HIM!" Tak jabbed a finger at Dib, bringing Red's attention to him.

Shrinking down when Tak pointed at him, Dib hid slightly behind Zim.

"Hmm?" Red stared at Dib for a few moments, not recognizing him at first. "Wait a minute...I know you...I don't know from where or how...But you look vaguely familiar..." he said, trying to pinpoint where exactly he knew Dib from.

Pulling Dib close, Zim glared at Red. "This is Dib." he said, seeing if the name would ring any bells inside his leader's head.

"Dib? You mean that human you had with you the last time you were here?" Red looked back at Dib, eying him up and down. "Hmmm...Yes...You had that weird, horn thing on the top of your head..." he said, twirling one of his fingers around before pointing at his scythe lock. "But something is different about you..." he said, still not noticing the obvious fact that he was part Irken now. "Did you gain weight?" he asked, practically disregarding the fact that they had just told him Dib was pregnant.

Eyes growing wide at those words, Dib's face flushed, though more out of anger than anything else. Then, without saying anything, he glared before pulling his hand from Zim's and turning to storm out of the room in a silent fury.

"Dib? Come back!" Zim ran after him, leaving Tak and Gaz to the monitors.

Tak face palmed. "Stupid emotional wreck." she muttered under her breath before glaring at Red. "He's not fat! He's pregnant! And he's half Irken!" she exclaimed, quickly becoming frustrated with Red as well.

"Pregnant? I thought you said Zim already WAS a father. And since when did that human become part Irken?"

"He IS a father, and Dib is the mother! And he apparently became Irken right before I got here."

"Well, was he pregnant BEFORE you got there too?"

"Not that I'm aware of. No."

"Then why didn't you do away with him before something like this could happen?"

Tak glanced at Gaz. "I got a little...distracted...And he got pregnant right after I saw him, so..." her sentence trailed off.

"So...Why are you telling me all of this? What possible reason could you have for contacting me about it?" Red narrowed his eyes on them slightly.

Tak sighed. "We need the blueprints for an incubation tube." she said slowly, in a low voice.

"An incubation tube? And what makes you think I'd just give you the blueprints for one of our incubation tubes? Zim thinks he's so smart! Let him figure out how to build one on his own!"

Tak growled at that response. "According to law, you cannot allow naturally born smeets to die when you could have prevented it!" she snapped back at him.

Red glared at her. "And who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do?" he demanded, standing up out of his chair to, in a sense, tower over her.

QQQ

Meanwhile, back out in the living room, Dib headed for the front door to leave, stopping when he felt Zim grabbing his wrist from behind. "Let me go..." he said, not even turning back around to look at Zim.

"Dib, please...This is for the smeets. As soon as we get the blueprints, we can leave, and I'll never make you come back."

Dib turned on Zim. "He called me fat, Zim!" he exclaimed, frustrated tears stinging at his eyes now. "And he wants you dead...Does that sound like somebody who's going to be willing to help you?" he said, not seeing what the point of going back in there would be.

Antennae drooping, Zim sighed. "No..." he released Dib, dropping his arm away along with his gaze.

Sniffling wetly, Dib wrapped his arms around his abdomen. "I want to go home..." his body trembled slightly as he knew for a fact already they couldn't do anything to fix the situation. Then, bringing his gaze up to stare at Zim now, he panted out heavily in the empty room. "Zim...He's not going to give them to us no matter what you say...So please...Let's just go..." he begged the other to leave with him, though Zim seemed reluctant to leave without at least trying to convince Red to give them the blueprints.

"I-I can't go, Dib. Not when there's a chance...I don't want to lose the smeets..."

"Well, neither do I, but don't you think you could come up with something on your own?" Dib asked, getting upset again as he stumbled back against the door to press his back to unsteadily. "I don't want to go back in there, Zim..." he said, squeezing his eyes tightly shut, antennae drooping as he shook his head.

Zim pulled Dib into a tight hug. "Please, Dib. Just...come back for a little longer...You don't even have to say anything...J-Just...Do it for me...Please?" he tried to convince Dib to return to the room with him.

Shuddering in Zim's arms, Dib peeked his eyes open after a moment to stare up at him. "I-If he calls me fat again, I won't stay..." he warned the other before he made him go back in there with him.

Zim smiled a little bit. "If he calls you fat again, I'll kick his ass." he said, not about to just let Red get away with insulting Dib, Tallest or not.

QQQ

Meanwhile, back in the room, having walked in a few moments before, just in time to hear the last exchange of words between Tak and Red, Purple approached the screen to see what all the commotion was about. "What is this about smeets?" he asked, walking up behind Red.

Red jumped at hearing Purple behind him. "N-Nothing!" he lied, turning to face the other, just knowing that if Purple heard about Zim's smeets, he'd want even more to try for his own.

Purple glared at him. "I don't believe you. What are you two talking about?" he asked, only mildly surprised to see Tak on the other end of this conference call.

"My Tallest." Tak bowed to Purple when he joined the conversation. "I was just discussing with Tallest Red here why I cannot kill Zim" she said, causing Red to flinch.

"Hm? Wh-Why would you be trying to kill Zim?" Purple asked before turning his attention to Red, narrowing his eyes on him now. "Red, what's going on here? Didn't I tell you already to keep your hands off of Zim?" he reminded the other of their earlier conversation.

"Uh...W-Well..."

Entering the room right at that moment, holding Dib tightly, Zim looked up to see Purple on the screen and smiled wide. "Oh! My Tallest!" he exclaimed, knowing there was a chance now.

"Zim?" Purple stared at him in some confusion then Red then Tak then Zim again. "Somebody please explain to me what exactly is going on here! And somebody OTHER than Red since everything that comes out of his mouth seems to be a lie!" he glared over at Red.

"Dib is pregnant!" Zim shouted out rather bluntly as he made his way back over to the screen with Dib.

Red mumbled. "Just looks fat to me." he said under his breath, inevitably bringing about a reaction from both Zim and Dib.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 60. =3 Now to get to your guys' reviews~

To SkyDrops: Oh, yes. Generally speaking, almost ALL of ZO's chapters are short, give or take one or two chapters. But that's just because I like to try and keep all the chapters relatively the same length. Also, there's a higher probability of me updating with short chapters since I tend to get sidetracked easier when working on fics with LONG chapters. So yeah. Thanks for reading anyways. =3 There's definitely a lot more to come. It's just a matter of me ficafying it all (which I'll have to return back to doing once we reach Chapter 116 again).

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Glad to hear you're finding the story awesome still. 8D


	60. Chapter 61

ZADR Orange Chapter 61

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Hearing Red's words, not caring that he was Tallest when it came to Dib, Zim interjected before the other could say anymore. "SHUT UP!" he practically snapped at his leader, though it was already too late.

Having heard the comment, Dib's eyes snapped back open at Red's words.

"Dib? You mean that human you had with you the last time you were here? A-And he's pregnant? W-Wait a minute. How can he be pregnant if you're both different species?" Purple asked, pointing back and forth between Zim and Dib.

Arms wrapped around his abdomen, Dib didn't even wait around for Zim to respond to that question as he turned to leave the room a second time. "I-I'm going to be sick..." he said, sniffling as he went to head for the bathroom.

"Dib..." Zim watched him go, antennae drooping.

Tired of the slowness of this conversation, Gaz for the first time spoke up, facing Purple to address his earlier questions. "Zim turned my brother into an Irken hybrid then raped him, so he's pregnant now, and we're calling you to get blue prints for an incubation tube so they don't DIE after they're born." she said all at once, not elaborating on any details.

Purple blinked wide eyes at Gaz. "Ooookaaaay..." he said somewhat unsurely before turning his attention back on Zim, who was glaring at Gaz about that raping comment.

Noticing Pur staring at him questioningly after a few more moments, Zim then glanced back up at him before sighing. "Yes...It's true. And RED here keeps insulting Dib!" he said, glaring at Red.

Turning his attention to Red, Purple then glared at him. "Oh, he does, does he?" he said, smacking Red in the back of the head. "Red, you leave Zim and his mate alone! I've already told you a million times that so long as you leave them alone, they'll leave us alone!" he said before then turning back to face Tak. "Tak, whatever Red told you to do to Zim, I'm ordering you NOT to! You're not to lay even one finger on him no matter what the situation!" he said authoritatively, a tone he rarely took on seriously.

Tak bowed. "Yes, my Tallest." she knew better than to disobey such an order.

Glaring at the screen now, Red growled.

Noticing this, Purple smacked Red again.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom at Tak's base, Dib knelt before the porcelain throne, dry heaving as he felt sick but nothing was coming up like it usually did. He coughed into his hands, flinching when a sharp pain ripped through his abdomen. "O-Ow..." he groaned, doubling over more as the pain only continued to grow worse.

Back out with Zim, Gaz, and Tak, Zim sighed, worried about what was taking Dib so long in the bathroom. "So...Could you send us the blueprints?" he asked again, glancing back every few seconds.

"Of course. It's against the LAW to withhold such information in the event naturally born smeets are conceived." he said, emphasizing the word 'law' as he glared at Red all the while. "Let me just pull them up." he then said, turning to one of the Irken technicians in the room with them. "You!" he pointed at the one who had called Red's attention to the incoming transmission. "Pull up the blueprints for an Irken smeet incubation tube and have it sent straight to Tak's base!" he ordered the technician before turning back to face the screen, arms crossed.

The technician saluted. "Yes, my Tallest!" he nodded before pulling up said blueprints and sending them through the transmission to Tak's base.

Rocking back and forth on his feet, Zim continued to keep looking towards the bathroom where Dib had left for. 'What is taking him so long?' he thought to himself before deciding to investigate by leaving the room to head for the bathroom.

"Thank you, my Tallest. I'm sure that Zim is- HEY?" Tak stopped mid-sentence upon seeing Zim leave the room. "Hold on, my Tallest! I'll get him!" she said before pulling Gaz up in front of the screen again. "Here! Talk to Gaz!" she expected Gaz could keep them busy for at least a few minutes while she retrieved Zim, running after him.

Thrown slightly off guard by being shoved in front of the screen so suddenly, Gaz merely blinked at Red and Purple, who equally stared back at her just as confused.

Back in the bathroom, Dib pushed himself up slowly when he was unsuccessful in emptying his stomach of whatever it was that was making it hurt so much and stumbled his way out of the bathroom. The pain overwhelming him, it didn't take him long to realize he was hardly able to walk straight anymore, smacking into Zim on accident, an arm still wrapped about his abdomen. "Ow..." he squeezed his eyes tightly shut, antennae falling back and shuddering uncomfortably."Z-Zim...It hurts..." he said weakly, pressing his back to the wall and sliding down to the ground, his entire body trembling now.

"Dib? D-Dib? Oh, no! No! No, it can't be time yet! You still have a few weeks at least!" Zim quickly scooped Dib back up bridal style and ran back into the living room, passing Tak on his way through.

Trying to say something when she saw Zim heading back into the room, Tak growled when he merely ran by her and stormed back into the room she had left Gaz in. "Okay, NOW what?" she said, becoming sick of this back and forth tug of war Zim and Dib seemed to be having.

"MY TALLEST! SOMETHING IS WRONG!" Zim ignored her in favor of holding Dib tightly, nuzzling him and trying to comfort him.

Hearing Zim's words, Gaz turned from the screen to look back at Zim and Dib. "What happened?" she asked, when she realized Dib was writhing in pain in Zim's arms.

Before Zim could answer, Dib gasped and let out a pained yelp. "Ah! It hurts!" he exclaimed, curling in on himself more in Zim's arms. "I-It's like my insides are being ripped apart!" he sobbed into Zim's chest.

Holding Dib tighter, Zim looked panicked. "I-I don't know!" he had no idea what was happening to Dib.

Gaz turned to Tak. "Tak! Can your computer scan my brother's body and see what's going on in there?" she asked, taking charge of the situation.

Tak nodded. "Computer! Scan Dib! Tell us what's wrong!" she ordered her computer to do as Gaz told her.

Having a more feminine voice, Tak's computer did as it was told immediately, not groaning or complaining like Zim's computer usually did. "Scanning...Scan complete...The eggs are hatching." it informed them in no time at all.

"H-Hatching? But...He hasn't laid them yet!" Zim held Dib closer, truly scared now.

His breathing heavy now, Dib struggled to make words. "Oh, God! Wh-Why does it hurt so much?" he asked, gasping for air as he grasped at his shirt tightly.

"What do we do?" Zim demanded of the people around him.

Both speechless, Red and Pur could only stare. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE!"

"Well, what do you want us to do, Zim? We weren't exactly expecting them to start hatching inside of him!" Gaz yelled at him before turning her attention back to the ceiling to address Tak's computer again. "Alright. First things first. Are the smeets still alive?" she asked, deciding they should first determine whether this was a complication of the pregnancy or just something they hadn't foreseen happening.

"The smeets are growing normally. They just do not require their eggs anymore."

Gaz sighed. "So this is probably just something Dib will have to wait out...Can you get an estimate on how long it will take for them to completely break free from their eggs?" she then asked, wanting to know how much longer Dib would be in pain.

"An hour. Maybe two."

The rest of the group silent as Gaz questioned the computer, Zim held tightly to Dib, Dib cried from the pain of it all, and the Tallest and Tak stood back, slightly stupefied. Nothing like this had EVER happened.

Once finished questioning the computer, Gaz looked back at Dib first and then Zim. "Do you think he can last an hour or two, or would you rather we put him under until Tak's computer can confirm they're finished hatching?" she asked, unsure which course of action would be best in this situation.

Eyes snapping wide open at that suggestion, Dib struggled a bit at his sister's words. "No! No drugs! It's not good for them!" he sobbed, rolling back over to cry into Zim's shirt.

Nuzzling Dib, Zim pet his human hybrid lightly. As much as he didn't want Dib to be in anymore pain, he also didn't want to make him mad either. "No drugs..." he agreed, sighing out as he knew this would be a long two hours or so.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 61. =3 Until next time, you guys~


	61. Chapter 62

ZADR Orange Chapter 62

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Sweat beading at the top of his forehead as Dib curled himself up the best he could in Zim's lap, Dib swallowed thickly, the only thing he could think of to do in that moment being to try and will himself without any drugs into as deep a sleep as possible until it was all over. He clutched Zim's shirt tightly, closing his eyes and taking deep, slow breaths.

"Well...We'd better go!" Purple said quickly before glaring at Red. "I have some THINGS to discuss with Red here." he said, Red swallowing nervously as the transmission was cut.

Realizing that Dib was trying to relax, Zim picked him up and decided to help him by taking a seat on the couch out in the living room. "Is it okay if we stay here for a while?" he asked, looking up when both Gaz and Tak exited the room where the transmission had just been cut.

"Sure, whatever. Just don't make a mess."

Zim smiled. "Thank you." he said as Tak and Gaz left the room to play video games and cook dinner. Then, taking hold of Dib's antennae, Zim gently began massaging them, trying to relax him.

Letting out a small whimper at the sensation of pain mixing with the more relaxing feeling of Zim massaging his antennae, Dib twitched the thin appendages slightly against the Irken's hands, causing him to bury his face even more into Zim's uniform top. "Mmm...Zim..." he panted out, shifting a bit against Zim.

Zim licked his cheek lovingly. "Yes, Dib?" he asked, ready to do anything the other might want him to do.

Opening his mouth to say something, Dib was instantly overcome by another sharp pain in his abdomen that had him merely groaning in even more pain.

Eyes growing wide, Zim held Dib even tighter. "Shuushh...It's okay. I've got you..." he said, supporting the boy in his arms.

Dib shrank down against Zim. "I want my mom..." he said in such a low whisper it would be nearly impossible for Zim to hear him before he began sobbing gently to himself as he shifted about more, trying to get comfortable but having a hard time doing so.

Still stroking Dib's antennae, Zim sighed. "I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry, Dib..." he said, feeling horrible.

Shivering against Zim as he shifted back and forth between positions, Dib finally gave up on sleeping. "Z-Zim...I-It hurts so b-bad...I-I want to go home..." he pleaded with the other to take him home despite knowing that Zim probably wouldn't agree to move him in his current condition.

Nuzzling Dib, Zim sighed again. "I know, Dib...But I don't want to move you yet. It might hurt worse if I started carrying you away." he said, not wanting Dib to hurt any more than he already was.

"Hey, are you two hungry?"

Sobbing in response to his sister's question, Dib could only roll over to bury his face in Zim's shirt yet again, not wanting to see let alone think about food in his current condition. All he wanted was to go home, but he knew Zim wouldn't risk moving him until the pain began to ebb away.

Zim shook his head. "No, we're just going to sit here, okay...?" he didn't want to eat if Dib didn't want to.

Shrugging that off, Gaz turned to leave. "Whatever..." she didn't really care either way what they did at this point.

Rubbing Dib's back, Zim sighed. "Let me know when you start feeling better. I'll take you home then, kay...?" he promised Dib.

"But what if I don't start feeling better?" Dib burst out in an array of emotion, his tears coming even more now. "I want to go home! I-I want to go home..." he didn't want to wait that long to go home.

"Oh, Dib. It's okay. It's okay. Shhh..." Zim kissed and licked and stroked and did everything he could think of to calm Dib down, but it just wasn't working.

"But I feel like I'm going to be sick!" Dib brought his hands up to rub at his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry..." Zim looked like he was about to break down himself now. Dib was hurting so much, and he didn't know how to help him.

Everything growing too painful for him to even attempt to speak through his sobs, Dib gasped for air now.

"Ohh, Dib...Why can't I just give you painkillers?"

"N-No!" Dib managed to force out with some difficulty. "N-No drugs! I-It's bad for the smeets!" he narrowed his eyes on Zim as a warning not to push the subject any further.

Nuzzling Dib some more, Zim sighed yet again. "Okay..." he agreed though he didn't like it.

Holding his stomach as he sniffled wetly and made another attempt to fall back to sleep, Dib finally let his eyes slip back closed as he pressed himself up against Zim.

Trying to help soothe Dib long enough for him to fall asleep, Zim stroked his antennae.

Managing to push the pain back enough in his head, Dib finally, after another thirty long minutes of trying to get comfortable, slipped into a light sleep, the pain still there but not quite strong enough to pull him out of it. Antennae falling back, he then let out a few small whimpers in his sleep but remained otherwise quiet.

Growing tired himself, his body screaming at him to go to sleep, Zim merely continued to stroke Dib's antennae, not allowing himself that luxury just yet.

Peeking into the room when she sensed that everything had calmed back down, Gaz quietly spoke up to Zim once again when she was sure Dib had fallen asleep. "Hey. Now that he's asleep, do you want something to eat from the kitchen? I already know he probably won't feel up for eating anything for a while, but that's no reason for you to have to suffer too." she didn't see the point in that for the time being when Dib needed him.

Zim shook his head however. "No, I'm not hungry..." he said, not once taking his eyes off of the sleeping Dib.

Sighing at that response, Gaz turned to leave. "Well, if you do get hungry, there are leftovers in the fridge. Tak says you're welcome to stay the night, but you have to sleep out here on the couch. And there are blankets in the closet by the front door in case you get cold. Now, I'm going to bed." she said before finally walking out of the room to join Tak in the room she had set up for the both of them.

Letting Gaz know he had heard what she said, Zim nodded. He eyed the closet where the blankets were for a minute before deciding he could deal without one, not wanting to wake Dib up again.

His whimpers coming less and less often now as time ticked away from one hour to two to three to four, Dib slept soundly against Zim, the pain thankfully subsiding though leaving him fairly sore still. "Mmm...Zim..." he mumbled in his sleep, finding the rim of Zim's shirt and attempting to wriggle his way under it for more warmth, shivering when he could only get partway underneath it.

Eeping, Zim then giggled a little. "I guess you're cold..." he eyed the closet again. "Maybe my PAK legs..." he used his PAK legs to get to the blankets in the closet and almost made it without waking Dib.

But before he could reach it, Dib flinched at all the movement, blinking his eyes open slowly to find himself pressed against Zim's warm skin. "Z-Zim..?" his voice came out weak, slightly disoriented as he made an attempt to sit up but had some trouble getting out from underneath Zim's shirt. His entire body felt horribly sore now, as though it were inflamed but cold at the same time.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?" Zim stopped short of his attempts to reach the closet, momentarily forgetting about the blanket.

Continuing to struggle to pull himself out from underneath the Irken's shirt for a few moments, Dib finally managed to get his head free and sit himself up slowly, a look of discomfort on his face from how sore everything was, especially around his midsection. "O-Oww...I-It's cold...Can we go home yet?" he asked, not answering Zim's question as he shivered in his spot and sent the other another desperate look, just wanting to leave and sleep in a real bed.

Looking worried still, Zim smiled nonetheless. "Yeah. We can go home if you're ready." he nodded, Dib at least looking a little bit better now.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 62. =3 Until next time, you guys~


	62. Chapter 63

ZADR Orange Chapter 63

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Looking outside the window into the darkness, Dib's antennae drooped as the last thing he felt like doing was having to walk all the way back to Zim's base. "M-My body really hurts right now...I-I don't know if I can walk the entire way..." he said before look back at Zim. He didn't want to walk but knew it was the only way back to the base as he slowly attempted to push himself up onto his feet to at least stand, using Zim for support as his legs shook a bit.

"No, Dib." Zim pulled Dib back into his lap. "There is no way you are walking all the way to the base." he stood up, scooping Dib up bridal style. "I'll carry you." he said, heading for the door.

Letting out a slightly startled squeak at being scooped up so suddenly, Dib then blushed. "But that's too far to carry me, Zim...Really...I can walk at least part of the way..." he tried to shift out of the Irken's arms.

Nuzzling Dib, Zim smiled. "No, no, Dib. I can carry you. It's not too far." he headed for the door then froze. "...C-Could you open it?" he asked, gesturing to the door.

Looking over at the door, Dib then leaned forward a bit to open the door for Zim. "A-Are you sure you can carry me all that way, Zim? I-I'm not as light as I was a few months ago..." he blushed, his leader's comment about his weight still getting to him.

"Dib, listen to me. You are NOT fat, okay? You're NOT." Zim leaned forward to kiss him. "I love you. Now, let me take you home." he said, using his foot to close the door after they had exited Tak's base.

Dib sighed. "Okay..." his antennae drooped nonetheless. "C-Can I take a hot bath when we get back? I-I'm really sore right now..." he said, shifting uncomfortably in Zim's arms a bit.

"Anything you want, Dib." Zim smiled, kissing him again. He then began carrying Dib home.

Resting his cheek against Zim's chest, Dib fell silent for a few minutes longer before speaking up again. "What's going to happen now?" he asked, passing one of his hands down to his stomach, his fingers twitching against it.

Looking away, Zim sighed. "I-I'm afraid...you're going to be giving birth...to live smeets..." he squeezed Dib closely, eyes watering up. "I-I don't want you to get hurt..." he said, starting to have doubts again.

"You don't want me to...But it will hurt...a lot, won't it? And there's nothing we can do about it at this point..."

Shaking a little now, Zim nuzzled into Dib. "I know...You shouldn't do this, Dib. You shouldn't have to be going through this at all." he wished he had never slept with Dib in the first place.

"What's done is done though...A-And I don't want to lose the smeets..."

Still walking towards home, Zim held Dib tightly. "I'm so sorry..." he apologized for what must have been the millionth time that week.

Nuzzling his face into Zim's chest, Dib closed his eyes. "Please don't, Zim...I don't want you to regret these smeets..." he whimpered out softly, sniffling wetly.

Arriving on their home block, Zim shook his head. "I just don't know what to think anymore..." he said, feeling overwhelmed by the situation.

On the verge of breaking down now, Dib lifted his gaze up to stare at Zim with wide, tearful eyes.

"Oh, don't cry, Dib...Please don't cry. I want the smeets. I do. I-I just wish you didn't have to get hurt..." Zim tried to calm him as he finally arrived at the base and carried Dib inside, taking him down to the bedroom so he could take his bath.

Hiding his face in Zim's chest, Dib could only let out a shaky breath at those words. "I don't even care, just so long as they survive!" he whimpered into Zim's shirt, his body shaking slightly. He just didn't want to lose them.

Shaking his head, Zim sighed. He knew if worst came to worst, he would be saving Dib, not the smeets but thought it better not to tell Dib that. He nuzzled Dib. "You wanting to take a soak?" he asked, changing the subject now.

Lifting his head to look up at Zim after a moment, Dib nodded slowly. "I don't think I'll be able to get back to sleep without one...IF I can even get to sleep at all, that is..." he sighed, wide awake despite how tired he felt.

Zim nodded. "You want me to help you?" he asked, feeling a little nervous about leaving Dib on his own in his current condition.

Opening his mouth as though to say no, he could handle it, Dib stopped himself, looking back down and realizing that he really couldn't handle it. He then nodded slowly. "Yeah..." he agreed to let Zim help him.

Carrying Dib into the bathroom and setting him down on the edge of the tub, Zim smiled softly at him. "You get undressed. I'll get your water set up, okay?" he said, setting to work on making the water as comfortable as possible for Dib.

Nodding his head in agreement, Dib slowly worked to pull off his shirt with some difficulty before getting frustrated and moving on to his pants first instead. He was shaking still as he made every effort to undo them and pull them off.

Looking up, Zim noticed Dib's distress and chuckled a little. "Need some help, Dib-love?" he asked, making his way back over to Dib's side.

Jumping slightly at the question, Dib looked back at him and blushed. "I-I umm...O-Okay..." he gave in, sighing as his antennae drooped and his blush grew even more.

Leaning up to kiss Dib, Zim smiled softly before pulling back and sliding his hands up under Dib's shirt, sliding it off and over his head before tossing it to the floor. Then, he reached for Dib's pants, unbuttoning them and sliding them down as well.

Shifting slightly so he was facing away from Zim a bit once his clothes were off, Dib squeezed his legs together subconsciously as he blushed shyly. "Th-Thank you..." he thanked the other, glancing back at him a few times just to return to staring back down at his lap as he scooted his way into the welcome warmth of the tub. As embarrassed as he was though, he didn't want to be left alone as he continued to glance back at Zim every few seconds.

Stroking Dib's face, Zim smiled. "I won't leave you if you don't want me to." he said, sensing that the other didn't want him to leave.

"I...don't want to be left alone..."

Running a hand through Dib's hair and rubbing his antennae, Zim smiled even wider. "Then I'll stay with you." he really didn't mind waiting for the other.

Letting his eyes slip closed at the gentle rubbing sensation, Dib leaned up against the edge of the tub comfortably and rested his head in his arms. "Mmm...Don't stop..." he sighed out gently, finding comfort in the gentle ministrations.

Zim smiled. "I won't." he kept rubbing Dib's antennas before moving a hand down to his belly to stroke his ever extending baby bump.

Eyes still closed, Dib then murmured out a quiet question. "Mmm...How much longer do you think we have...?" he asked, becoming lost to the gentle stroking.

Zim shook his head. "I'm not sure...You've been carrying them for almost four months now..." he really had no idea what to expect now, knowing that the eggs had hatched inside of Dib.

"Humans usually carry their young for about 9 months...But I don't know if that's going to be the case in this pregnancy..."

Still stroking Dib, Zim sighed. "I guess we'll just have to find out somehow..." he didn't want this to be a surprise any more than Dib did.

"Well...Do you think your computer could give us an estimate of how much longer we have? I'd really like to know ahead of time when to be expecting them..."

Zim nodded. "Okay. I'll ask when you're done in the bath, kay...?" he figured it was worth a shot.

Dib nodded his own head. "Okay..." he then closed his eyes, sinking into the water some more.

Continuing to stroke Dib's antennas and belly, Zim smiled and purred a little. "I bet they'll look just like their mommy." he whispered, nuzzling Dib.

Blinking his eyes open to look up at Zim at those words, Dib sent him a slightly confused look. "Like me?" he repeated the words before looking back down at the water. "I'm not so sure about that...I-I didn't really look all that much like my mom when I was born...I looked more like my dad. So I'm betting they'll look more like you. After all, they'll be more Irken than I am." he said, considering what they might look like himself.

Kissing Dib, Zim sighed. "Who's to say they won't look like you? I think if they did, they'd be completely perfect." he smiled, imagining their smeets looking just like Dib.

"I'd rather they look like you...If they looked like me, that would mean they also look like my dad, and I don't want that. I wouldn't mind if one of them looked like my mom though." Dib smiled at the thought.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 63. =3 Now to respond to your guys' reviews~

To SkyDrops: No, the chapters aren't off. They're set that way purposefully. If you go back and read through the entire story, you'd realize Chapter 34 was never posted here on FF. Fanfiction doesn't approve of sexual content being posted on their site. I wasn't going to risk having the entire story removed for the sake of posting one chapter. So chapter 34 never made it on here. I've already had entire stories deleted from FF in the past. I refuse to give FF any reason to delete this one.

To Klara2012zimdib: Heheh. ^^ Oh no. Thank YOU for reading. =3 It's very much appreciated, as is your review. =3 I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much and I do hope you continue to enjoy it as it continues to be posted. Red with definitely be getting a "punishment" from Purple for his actions. And no worries. ^^ You'll get to see what happens with Dib and the smeets come the end of the story. =3 Though, that is still a very far ways away. XD But trust me. =3 We're shooting for a happy ending with this story. Anyways, thanks again for reading. Until next time~


	63. Chapter 64

ZADR Orange Chapter 64

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Sighing at Dib's words, Zim could only shake his head at them, feeling slightly defeated. "Dib, you look NOTHING like your father. Especially now..." he tried to convince the other of that fact.

"But what if the genes carry over to them? It's not unheard of for people to look like their grandparents!"

"But, Dib. Your DNA is different then what it was before..."

"No...Only half of it. The other half is still human..."

"And only half of that human DNA has anything from your father in it..."

Dib sighed. "I just wish I could completely erase him from my genes...But I'd risk losing what little I have left of my mom too if I did that...Not that it matters anymore...It's already too late to do anything about it at this point. The genes they have now are the genes they'll grow up with." he sighed again.

Taking the boy's head in his hands, Zim stopped rubbing Dib and forced him to look him in the eyes. "Look at me, Dib. There is NOTHING to worry about. Their genes are perfect. Both me and you. What more could we wish for?" he said, not wanting to hear another word about this.

Blinking up at Zim with wide eyes for a few moments, Dib then looked away to the side. "Y-You're right...I'm sorry...I-I guess it's just the hormones talking again..." he said, closing his eyes and leaning back in the tub again to try and relax. "Or maybe I'm just tired..." he said in a truly worn out voice.

Returning to petting Dib, Zim smiled. "Just relax and sleep, Dib. I'll take care of you..." he could tell the other was tired.

But Dib could only whisper something in a quiet voice. "I'm not so sure I can...I'll try, but as tired as I feel, I just don't know if I can get comfortable enough to fall back to sleep..." he said, yawning as his antennae fell back to rest against his head. "It's like my sleep has been messed up since day one...I sleep when I'm supposed to be awake, and I'm awake when I'm supposed to be asleep..." he didn't understand how he could be so out of it but still have such a hard time actually falling asleep.

Zim stroked Dib's antennae some more. "It's okay, Dib. Just sleep when you're tired...It's not a big deal if you can't sleep at night." he just assumed it was another symptom of the pregnancy.

Dib tilted his head back to look at Zim again. "But what about you? I know you must be tired. It's really late, and I'm the only reason you're still awake right now." he didn't want Zim to lose sleep over his pregnancy.

Zim smiled. "I'm fine, Dib. I can wait for you." he didn't want to go to bed without Dib.

Dib's eyes fell half lidded at that response. "If I'm in bed next to you, will you sleep even if I don't? I could always just watch you sleep until morning." he offered a solution to their current situation, wanting to come to some sort of compromise.

Zim smiled. "I think I could...As long as you at least try to sleep." he agreed to that arrangement.

"O-Okay...Then I think I'll get out now..." Dib said quietly as he went to push himself up slowly onto his feet in the tub. "I don't want to keep you up any longer..." he swayed almost unsteadily, using Zim for support.

Zim smiled. "I don't mind, Dib..." he didn't want to rush the other but helped Dib out anyways, wrapping a large, fluffy towel around him.

Ducking down a bit as the towel seemed to swallow him up, surrounding him with warmth and softness, Dib blinked his eyes back up at Zim, a blush on his face.

Zim smiled softly at him. "Would you like me to carry you?" he asked, unsure how stable the other was feeling on his legs right then.

His blush growing, Dib looked away to the side. "I'm not dressed yet..." he reminded the other, thinking he should at least get dressed first before heading to bed with Zim.

But Zim just smiled back at him. "It's okay. You're just going to sleep. You can keep the towel on if you need something." he didn't think it was such a big deal if Dib slept naked just this once.

"Okay..." Dib agreed, too tired to protest that idea as he closed his eyes and rested all his weight against Zim, his antennae falling back to rest comfortably against his head again.

Scooping Dib up, Zim nuzzled him before carrying him into the bedroom and laying him down gently on the bed, pulling the covers over him. Then, he crawled up into the bed next to Dib as well, cuddling up to him. "Sweet dreams..." Zim said, assuming the other was going to attempt falling back to sleep.

Dib smiled back at Zim. "Isn't that what I should be saying to you right now?" he reminded the other, giving Zim a gentle nuzzle back and opening his eyes partway to look at the other.

Rolling his eyes, Zim then proceeded to close them. "Good night." he said one last time before falling asleep soon after.

"Night..." Dib said in a quiet whisper before shifting in his spot to get more comfortable. Then, becoming still after a moment or two, he just watched Zim sleep peacefully from his spot, reaching out a hand to gently trace his fingers across one of the Irken's cheeks.

Zim, meanwhile, remained completely still, sleeping too deeply to be woken by this.

Dib smiled even more. "Sleep tight, Zim..." he breathed out before leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his forehead, pulling his hand away with a yawn and closing his eyes.

The next morning, Zim was the first to wake up and smiled at the sight of Dib sleeping soundly next to him. He slid his hand onto Dib's belly, rubbing the baby bump.

Letting out a small whine in his sleep and shifting a bit, Dib merely continued to sleep however, having only fallen asleep a few hours earlier.

Kissing his belly, Zim smiled wide before sliding out of bed to take his own bath.

Burrowing himself underneath the soft covers of the bed, Dib let out a small yawn in his sleep. "Mmm...Zim..." he mumbled, in the midst of a dream.

Chuckling at this as he closed the bathroom door, Zim then began stripping down before turning on the cleansing gel.

Starting to show the first signs of waking up about 5 minutes later, Dib wriggled his way out from underneath the covers to sit up slowly in the bed. "Zim...?" he called out the Irken's name, blinking his eyes open slowly and looking around a bit disoriented.

Not hearing Dib call for him over the sound of the faucet, Zim shut it off and slid into the warm gel, sighing out contently.

"Zim?" Dib yawned again, bringing up a hand to rub the sleep out of his eyes as he crawled haphazardly towards the edge of the bed just to accidentally crawl right off of it, hitting the floor with a small yelp before sitting up suddenly, wide awake now and looking around.

Not hearing the thunk in the other room from Dib falling off the bed, Zim continued washing himself off in the tub, sighing at the relaxing feel of the gel.

Pushing himself up slowly to crawl back up onto the bed, Dib then curled in on himself.

Finishing up his bath once he had completely scrubbed himself down and rinsed off, Zim then drained the tub and got out, wrapping one of the large fluffy towels around himself. Leaving the bathroom, he then saw Dib curled up on the bed. Thinking that he was still asleep however, he then proceeded to drop the towel, smiling as he went to get dressed.

Having accidentally knocked the wind out of himself, Dib shivered slightly before perking his antennae up at the sound of Zim dropping the towel. An arm wrapped tightly around his abdomen, he then slowly sat himself up and looked behind himself to see Zim before doubling over and coughing.

Antennae instantly standing at attention, Zim turned before rushing over to the bed, dropping his clothes on the floor in the process. "Dib? Dib, are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked when he saw the other doubled over in pain.

Panting, Dib's eyes snapped wide open at the question as he looked up at Zim and shook his head frantically. "N-Nothing! I-I'm fine!" he tried to cover up his pain before then coughing into his hand again. "I-I just knocked the wind out of myself..." he said before looking up at Zim again just to realize that the other was completely naked still, causing him to blush and quickly turn away so as not to be caught staring at the alien's anatomy.

Not noticing Dib's embarrassment, Zim stroked his hair gently. "Oh, Dib...Will you be okay? Do you need me to do anything for you?" he asked, ready to jump to it were Dib to say he needed anything in that moment.

Peeking back at Zim for a split second, Dib quickly returned his gaze back to right in front of himself, his face on fire now. "I-I'm fine! U-Umm...B-But you might want to finish...umm...g-getting dressed." he said, beginning to play with the covers shyly now, twisting them this way and that, especially considering he himself was still naked underneath the blanket wrapped around himself.

Zim laughed a little at that. "I forget how shy you are." he kissed Dib gently then turned to bend over and grab his clothes, slipping them on.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 64. =3 Now to respond to your guys' reviews~

To The5000livi: Well, the story was already written up to Chapter 130 when I first stopped updating it. I'm trying to catch up now since we have the upcoming DoomCon on its way. =3 So you can all expect a lot more updates over the following month or so. There are some chapters that have to be completely rewritten, but hopefully that won't slow me down too horribly much. Thanks for reading. ^^

To SkyDrops: No problem. =3 At least you know now. I've had entrie stories removed in the past for posting sexual chapters, so I don't post them here any longer. This story will eventually be off by several chapters as more of the sex scenes come along, but I assure you, it's 64 chapters long. =3

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Always to pleasure to hear you're still enjoying this story. =3 I'll do my best to keep it from disappointing. ^^ Thanks for keeping up and reading. Until next time~

To Klara2012zimdib: The link to Chapter 34 of this story is still posted in my profile if you want to read it. The only website you can read that chapter on is Fur Affinity though. You need to have an 18+ account and have all your settings correctly set (ie. mature filter OFF) to read it. I assure you though, the chapter hasn't gone anywhere. It's still sitting in my FA account, right where I posted it. Glad you're enjoying the story anyways though. Chapter 34 isn't really all that important to the plot however. I think even without that chapter, it goes without saying that they just have sex in it, which is why it's not posted here on FF.

To the anonymous reader named Kayla: Hello, and welcome to the review section of ZO. I'm very pleased to hear you're enjoying this story so much and I do hope you continue to enjoy it as you continue reading. =3 I'm always thrilled to hear when our readers are inspired by this story, and I do agree that I try to bring in an element of daily life into the majority of my fics with people. =3 The best way I like to describe my fics is as ZADR soap operas. XD As a writer, I believe drama can be found even in the small daily routines of others. Who says you need an explosion and epic fight scene to bring about the drama of a situation? I'm very happy to hear you're finding it so relatable as that is what I was going for while working on this fic. =3 Even the fluffy ZADR bits were meant to hold as realistic a stance as possible in this story. So I'm always happy to hear when it's being pulled off in a believable way. Anyways, more of this story will most definitely be soon to come. So I do hope to hear back from you in the future as I continue to update and work on this fic. =3 Until then, however~


	64. Chapter 65

A/N: Alright. Before I post this chapter, please keep in mind that once again, this is a PG-13 version of the original Chapter 65. So yeah. The non-PG-13 version can be found at Dib-The-Hybrid on DA for those of you who want to read it there. But otherwise, please don't ask me to send it to you in a personal note or baww over the fact I'm not posting the full chapter here on FF. I won't even bother going into detail about WHY I'm not posting the full chapter here as I've made this point clear plenty enough times in the past.

That said, I hope you guys otherwise enjoy. =3

ZADR Orange Chapter 65 (PG-13 Version)

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Pulling the covers up over his head to hide under, Dib could only blush even more at Zim's words. Sometimes the other was just so blunt about things that all he wanted to do was curl up and die from embarrassment.

Now dressed, Zim came back to check on Dib. "Dib..." he slid his hands under the covers, flipping them off of the boy.

Having the covers yanked off of him so suddenly, Dib let out a startled noise. "H-Hey!" he went to reach for the covers but stopped himself, realizing he was completely exposed now. He grabbed a pillow to hide behind, face a bright red. "G-Give me back the covers!" he said, backing up on the bed a bit, legs squeezed tightly together.

Zim laughed lightly. "Dib, it's okay..." he put his hand on the hybrid's shoulder. "I'm not going to do anything to you. I swear." he slid his other hand down to rub Dib's belly.

Not quite comfortable with how close Zim was to him given his clothe-less state, Dib tensed up nonetheless, especially when the other ran one of his hands down towards his lower stomach, dangerously close to his loins.

Zim kissed him gently. "Dib...I've seen you naked before, and I'll see you naked again...You don't have to be so tense...I PROMISE I'm not going to do anything..." he sighed, nuzzling him, trying to form some bonds of trust between them.

Flinching back at the small touches, Dib could only shrink down in his spot a bit more however. He had never been comfortable with anyone seeing him naked, especially now with his 'modified' anatomy, which he had barely even really gotten a good look at himself. Hell, he had barely even explored his own anatomy when he had been human.

Not wanting to give up but starting to feel like it was a lost cause, Zim sighed. "...I could show you..." he didn't want Dib to feel so shy about this.

Antennae perking up a bit at Zim's words, Dib remained fairly tense. "Sh-Show...me...? Sh-Show me wh-what...?" he said as though he were in a daze, still hiding behind the pillow he was holding, cheeks a bright red.

Blushing himself, Zim shook his head before leaning over and twisting his tongue around Dib's antennae, sliding it up and down, making Dib relax against his will. Then, sliding his own pants down just a little bit, he took Dib's hand and brought it to between his legs.

Giving in a bit, Dib couldn't help but shake at the sensation of Zim's tongue dragging itself up and down his antennae. Gasping and panting heavily, his eyelids fluttered closed when the other moved his hand down just a bit more. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "A-Ah...Z-Zim...Please...P-Please stop!" he wanted to pull away before things went too far.

Panting heavily, Zim let go of Dib at the shout, falling to his knees and leaning on the bed, his eyes closed tightly.

Dib instantly pulled back his hand to his chest, rather shaken by the situation and still panting heavily himself as he pulled away to stand up, abandoning the pillow and taking a few steps back before turning to head for the bathroom, locking himself inside it.

Crying in his head, Zim shook on the bed silently, feeling like Dib hated him now. "I'm sorry..." he said to the empty room, knowing no one would hear him.

Dib wasn't mad however. Rather, he was more in shock than anything else as he scooted himself up into a corner of the room, eyes still wide with disbelief.

Grabbing his towel from earlier to pat himself dry, Zim stood up shakily before pulling his pants back up and leaving the room, staring at the floor all the while. Tossing the towel into the dirty clothes chute, he then headed back up to the main floor, curling up on the couch in the living room once he had reached it and trying to think up something he could do to make it up to Dib for what he had done. "Why can't I do anything right?" he thought on it for a while then decided the best way to make Dib feel better would be to prepare him a nice meal and allow him some time alone. Rolling off the couch, Zim then entered the kitchen and began cooking the most extravagant thing he could think of, making sure not to mention a thing to Dib, wanting him to come up on his own, hoping that with enough time he might forgive him again.

Climbing into the tub to give himself a thorough, 30-minute scrub once he had recovered some, feeling so horribly dirty now, Dib then made his way to the bathroom door and unlocked it to wander back into the bedroom, wide eyes still staring down at the ground as he hadn't quite recovered fully yet. He couldn't get over how Zim's actions had made him feel.

Setting a place for one at the kitchen table, Zim, meanwhile, finished off the meal, setting it all on the table in a fanciful display before going into the living room once again to curl up on the couch and watch some TV.

Knowing he'd have to face Zim eventually, Dib slipped into a fresh pair of clothes before sighing. He wasn't mad at the other but knew it would probably be one of the most awkward moments in his life. Sighing again, he headed for the elevator, eyelids and antennae drooping almost tiredly as he stared down at the ground uneasily. He had no idea what he would say to Zim when he got up there nor whether he even should say anything at all. He didn't want things to become so tense between them again, especially now that they had just gotten back together.

Turning off the TV after trying to find something good to watch, Zim then sighed, wondering if Dib would even come up at all.

Entering the elevator to head on up to the kitchen, Dib pressed a button to activate it and waited a few moments as it lifted him up to the house level of the base. Upon coming to a stop and opening its doors, he then exited the elevator, his antennae perking somewhat when he saw the large display of food on the table before then drooping again however when he saw only one place setting and no Zim in sight.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 65 =3 Bleh...So it's not the most smooth-running chapter of them all. After all, I had to cut out a whole lot from this chapter and completely re-arrange it. But I did the best I could with what I had. If you want to read the full chapter, please search for it over on DA. It shouldn't be all that hard to find. And I'll look forward to hearing back from some of you soon. =3 Until then, however~


	65. Chapter 66

A/N: ;_; Okay. I give, you guys. I guess there's just no point in asking people NOT to send me grief over my decision to post sexual chapters elsewhere. No, I am NOT going to start posting them here on FF. I'll just stop wasting my time with the A/N's because apparently they go unread by the majority of you all.

Darn...Right when I thought I had nailed this into people's heads. I just wish people would stop speaking to me as though this is my first day on FF. Newsflash, you guys. I've been here over EIGHT YEARS! I KNOW how this site works. I KNOW people get away with posting sexual content here. That does NOT mean EVERYBODY gets away with it. It only takes ONE report to have a story removed from the site. And I know of plenty of people out there who would be more than happy to report this story if given the chance.

I'm certain this won't stop people from contacting me about it because this literally happens several times a month. But perhaps I'll just stop responding to those sorts of comments from now on. -_-; I am tired to repeating myself. I really am. And I am tired of people treating me like I'm some sort of idiot. I'm twenty fucking three years old, you guys. I've graduated from college. Apparently that doesn't stop people from assuming I'm some 12-year-old noob with no knowledge of the internet. I don't follow this site's rules just to annoy you guys. I follow them because they are there for a reason. Please don't give me the run around about trying to get around those rules. I'm perfectly happy to just follow them and post the chapters elsewhere. If other people want to break them, that's their choice to make. Please don't ask me to do things your way just because you and 20 million other people do it differently.

That said, I hope you guys otherwise enjoy this quick update. =3 Hopefully more will be soon to come. I just have to get myself in more of a writing mood first. Been trying to work on DIS for ages but just haven't had the motivation for it. DX I guess DoomCon might fix that, but we'll see. I need to get my IZ drive back. The fandom just scares me nowadays though. :/ Too many Girtards and fangirls throwing around fan characters that they pair up with Zim or Dib. (Has an extreme hatred for FCXCanon pairings and people who only like the show for Gir).

ZADR Orange Chapter 66

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Regretting his earlier actions, Zim had by now gotten lost thinking about things and didn't hear Dib entering the upper floor.

Antennae falling as low as physically possible, Dib dropped his gaze back down to the ground. "...Maybe he's mad at me..." he looked back up at all the food, not feeling hungry at all. Convinced that Zim just didn't want to see him anymore, he pressed his back to the elevator door and sank down to sit on the floor with his knees to his chest.

Starting to feel hungry himself however, Zim sighed, figuring Dib wouldn't be coming up anytime soon. So, going into the kitchen to get something to eat other than Dib's buffet, he stopped, deadpanning at the sight of Dib curled up in front of the elevator door. "D-Dib?" the hybrid's name slipped past his lips.

So horribly embarrassed at the way he had reacted down in Zim's lab, Dib flinched back at hearing the other say his name then curled in on himself even more, wanting to hide himself away from Zim forever. He didn't even want to look up as he just sobbed into his arms.

Zim's eyes grew wide. "Wh-Why are you crying? Dib? Dib, what's wrong?" he asked, forgetting everything he was doing and going to Dib's side, wrapping an arm around him delicately.

Jolting slightly at the arm being wrapped around him, Dib otherwise didn't look up, his body shaking slightly as he sobbed into his arms more, wanting to pull away but finding himself unable to.

Worried something seriously wrong had happened with either Dib or the unborn smeets, Zim tried again to get Dib to talk to him. "Dib? Dib, tell me what's wrong." he pleaded with the other to tell him.

But Dib could only shrink down even more in his spot, shaking his head, not wanting to talk about what had happened down in Zim's bedroom, not even registering that Zim could be freaking out about something other than that at the moment.

Thinking that something was very wrong now, more than likely with the smeets, Zim started to panic. "Dib? DIB! PLEASE! Tell me what happened!" he held the hybrid closer. "A-Are the smeets okay? Please tell me, Dib! D-Don't do this! Please!" he nuzzled into him, shaking now.

His antennae perking and eyes blinking wide open at the Zim's words, Dib lifted his head from his arms to look up at Zim for the first time since he had come up there. "The smeets? But they're fine..." he said, antennae drooping again after saying that.

Zim's own antennae drooped as well. "Oh..." he stopped freaking out, feeling bad now. "Then what's wrong, Dib?" he placed his hand under Dib's chin, tilting his head up to force him to look him straight in the eyes. "Please...Tell me." he pleaded with the other not to keep what was bothering him a secret any longer.

Staring up at Zim for a few long moments, Dib then dropped his gaze back down to the ground and blushed, falling silent once more as his antennae fell back again uncomfortably, not wanting to answer Zim's question.

Zim looked sad. "Dib...Please tell me what's wrong. Don't you trust-" he cut himself off before he could finish, flinching at his own words. "Oh..." he let go of the boy quickly, realizing why Dib was so upset. "I-I'm sorry..." he apologized, pulling away to stand at the other end of the room now. "I-I made you breakfast..." he gestured to the buffet of food sitting there on the table untouched.

Wincing at the way Zim pulled away from him, feeling 10 times more hurt by the Irken's sudden distance, Dib felt the tears coming again as he brought up a hand to try and wipe them away, new tears replacing them just as quickly. "I-I'm not hungry..." he said in a strained voice, close to breaking down completely again.

Antennas twitching at the sound of Dib's voice, Zim winced, turning back around to see Dib crying again. Not knowing what to do, he rubbed his arm uncomfortably before giving in and rushing back over to him, wrapping his arms around Dib tightly. "Please don't cry...I know it's just hormones...But please...I know I shouldn't have done that...B-But I was just..." he sighed, trying to find the right words. "I don't know what I was doing, okay...?" he admitted, trying to soothe the other nonetheless.

Body shaking in his grip, Dib could only bury his face deeper into Zim's shirt.

Running his hands through Dib's hair, rubbing at his antennae gently, Zim kissed his head repeatedly. "Please forgive me..." he didn't want Dib to be upset with him.

His antennae twitching back at the feel of Zim rubbing them, Dib sank down against the other before sobbing out into the Irken's shirt. "But it's not fair to you! It's not fair that I keep reacting that way! It's not fair that I just can't bring myself to go any farther with you when you obviously want to..." his voice petered out.

"No, no. It's okay, Dib...I-I just...I'm sorry...I have to stop doing things like this...They just cause trouble..." Zim hugged Dib close, kissing him more.

"But it's my fault this keeps on happening! You do everything for me, but I can't even manage to do something so simple for you! And it's not fair that I can't bring myself to do what you want most from me!"

Nuzzling Dib, Zim sighed. "Let's just drop it, okay...? Come on. Let's just eat, okay...?" he tried to change the subject, not wanting Dib to be feeling that way.

His antennae drooping even more, Dib looked up at Zim with teary eyes then the food set out for him. "I knew it..." he said in nearly a whisper.

Zim stopped in his tracks. "Kn-Knew what?" he asked, not understanding Dib's words.

"You're angry! You're angry because of how I reacted down there! Because of how I react every time something like this happens!"

"What? NO! I'm not angry!"

"Yes, you are! You tell me you're not, but I can tell you feel cheated because I refuse to have sex with you!" Dib brought up a second hand to wipe more tears out of his eyes.

"NO, I'M NOT! I'M NOT MAD! I WAS JUST WORRIED ABOUT YOU, OKAY? I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN WHAT HAPPENED DOWN THERE! I-I was just trying to get you to trust me..."

"But I already DO trust you!" Dib sobbed, using his wrists now to wipe at his eyes. "What made you think I didn't...? he asked between sobs, hiding his face away in Zim's shirt again.

"Because I keep screwing up like this, okay?"

Flinching at the way the other yelled at him just then, Dib lifted his head to send Zim a slightly frightened look before pulling away, body shaking. "B-But I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust you..." his words came out shaky.

Zim looked away. "I-I know...I just..." he grabbed his own antennae, pulling on them roughly, hurting himself in the process as he tried to think of what to say next. He couldn't think of anything though and only ended up whimpering out softly. "I-I don't know, okay?" he tried to get that across to Dib.

No longer wiping at his eyes as he just let the tears come in a flood now, Dib dropped his hands back down to his lap. "D-Do you want me to leave...?" he asked, not sure whether Zim was mad at him or not any longer.

Zim's eyes snapped open. "NO!" he exclaimed in all seriousness.

Dib whimpered out in a strained voice. "I don't like hurting you...But it keeps on happening..." he said, just wanting to do what he thought was best for Zim.

Zim tugged painfully on his own antennae again. "You haven't done anything wrong, Dib..." he tried to keep his voice even and calm.

"Then stop doing that!" Dib screamed, reaching out to grab Zim's hands so he would stop tugging on his antennae like that. Then, blinking wide, tearful eyes up at the other, he moved his own hands down to gently run his fingers along the length of the sensitive appendages, massaging his thumbs around the very tips of them. "If I'm not hurting you, then stop hurting yourself every time I say something..." he said between light sobs and sniffles.

Purring lightly at having his antennas being treated so well after all the abuse he had just put them through, Zim melted in Dib's grasp. "...I'm sorry..." he apologized, suddenly very calm again.

Slumping up against Zim again while his fingers continued their work on the Irken's antennae, Dib breathed in shakily, his wide eyes falling half lidded before slipping all the way closed. "Then no more hurting yourself...Please...No more..." he begged with the other to stop before it became a habit for him.

Eyes half lidded, Zim nodded. "Okay...But...You have to tell me what's wrong from now on, okay...?" he didn't want there to be secrets between the two of them, especially after everything that had just happened a few weeks prior.

His antennae drooping, Dib squeezed his eyes tightly shut before nodding his head reluctantly. "...Okay..." he agreed in a quiet whisper.

Kissing him gently, Zim smiled. "Now, tell me what's wrong." he said, wanting to know what was wrong so he could make things right again.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 66 =3 Sorry for the long, ranting A/N at the beginning of this chapter, you guys. I'll just get to answering reviews now.

To Guest (Kayla): Well, hello again. =3 So nice of you to leave another review. ^^ I'm glad my conversion techniques didn't ruin the story for you too much, though I guess reading it over on DA might have something to do with that. XD Honestly enough though, I hated how I pieced together the PG-13 version of Chapter 65. But, what can one do when working with an RP? It's hard to stick to the script while trying to edit out the adult parts at the same time. But oh well. Moving on. I'm always happy when I can tug at people's emotions with my writing. =3 It's something I strive for. To make people FEEL something. You know, other than the annoyance of me taking forever to update. XD So I always appreciate hearing from you guys about that. And you're very welcome for the review response. =3 I'm happy to give them to anybody who takes the time to respond to this story. ^^

To Guest (Anonymous): Glad you think so. ^^

To TrU-iNSaNiTY (Who signed in as Guest on her first review): Well, not sure if you're caught up yet, but I'll throw you a review response anyways for when you DO make it to Chapter 66. Don't feel awkward about reviewing only a few chapters into the story. I do love to hear from you guys and I don't much mind which chapters you respond to. ^^ As for the fanart you saw on DA before reading the story, never judge a book by its cover, or, in this case, by its fanart. There's much more to this story than just the DA fanart, as I'm certain you realized by now. But anyways, moving on, you can find the DA version at Dib-The-Hybrid. I don't post in my main gallery because the last time I did that, I got bawwed at about it by my ex co-writer. So yeah. It gets its own account now. And as for Chapter 39, like I explained to you in the PM I sent you, I only told you not to look up FANART before that point. I never said you'd understand what I meant in my livestream. I just didn't want the fanart giving away the pregnancy spoiler. And trust me, pregnancy is NOT a crutch in this story. As large of a plot point it was to reach in the fic, there's much more to the fic than just that. If we had planned on using pregnancy to run this story, we would have introduced it MUCH earlier in the story. But all things considered, this story actually could stand on its own two feet even without the pregnancy aspect. We just threw that in there for our own amusement when writing it. So don't let it throw you off too much. Just keep on reading and you'll see where we end up taking it from here~

To Guest (Kuro): Hello there. =3 Ah, yes. The only other site it's posted on. Hopefully I'll catch up soon enough so you can continue reading, though obviously that site isn't being updated any longer. So yeah. Just hang tight here on FF and it should be caught up soon enough. =3 Thanks for reading. Hope I don't keep you waiting too horribly long. ^^

To MonochromeFox (Who also signed in as Guest on her first review; What the hell is up with you guys and signing in as all anonymous Guests this week? XD): As I promised in the PM I sent your way, here's your shoutout on the chapter. =3 A big, big, BIG thank you for the super kind review you sent. As I already mentioned, it was the longest review I've ever gotten from somebody on this story. So I very much appreciate it. Of course, I remember you from WAY back when the story first started, so I was happy to hear back from you again after all this time. ^^ I'm very happy you approve of the characterization of all the characters and I hope you continue to enjoy the ways in which they develop over time. Don't be sorry for reviewing all in one go though. For a single review to the entire story up to this point, it was rather detailed. And I'm pleased to hear when my reviewers are actually taking the time to read my A/N's and such. As mentioned above, the majority of my readers DON'T pay any mind to them. So yeah. Thanks once again. Even though there are people out there who try to come up with shit comments to send me about this story, the positive comments still outweigh the negative. So I'm happy. =3 I look forward to hearing more from you in the future. And don't worry. My ex-partner and I were heading that way for a long while. I kind of expected it to happen after a point, so it didn't really come to me as much of a surprise. All in all, we live, learn, and move on with our lives. So hopefully you'll continue to enjoy this fic as it moves on with its life. Until next time, however~ (P.S. The ZADROrange group on DA is for the most part dead. XD You don't have to watch that group if you don't want to. Nothing gets updated there any longer because of the falling out I had with NGD. Dib-The-Hybrid is where you'll find most of the story's updates nowadays).

To Mrs Inuyasha Kagome: Hello again. =3 Yet another familiar face I haven't seen in some time. I hope you're doing well. Yes, it's true. This story really HASN'T been updated in a long while. But I'm glad you're still keeping up even though it took me a while to get things going again. I'm happy to hear you're still enjoying the story, and I do hope you'll continue to enjoy it as even more updates come in the future. =3

To Invader Zeyin: Hello and welcome to the review section of ZO. XD I realize you left a review on Chapter 2 of the story, but if/when you catch up, I do hope this response back doesn't go unnoticed. As for the story itself, it is indeed long. But please don't feel rushed to read it. It's not going anywhere so you can feel free to take as much time as you need on it. All in all, I hope you enjoy. =3

To Gues (Anonymous): Eh...I didn't name Jack back when he was created. My ex co-writer did. But I can assure you, the name was meant to be totally random. So it's not that it was a popular name. It's total coincidence that Jack was named "Jack" and that his last name just happened to be "Williams." Thanks for reading anyways.

To Invader-ZimXDib-membrane: Thank you for reading the story, but please see the PM I sent you in response to your review. I've kind of explained this in my A/N's a dozen times by now. I'd appreciate not being told what I already know on here. Thank you. ^^

And that just about raps it up for this week's reviews you guys. As I've already said, I'll see if I can get in a few more updates, but don't hold me to that. I need to build up my motivation for updating first. Not the easiest thing to do when there are so many other things going on around you. But oh well. The upcoming con should fix that soon enough. Until next time though~


	66. Chapter 67

ZADR Orange Chapter 67

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Dib couldn't bring his eyes up to meet Zim's gaze. "...But I already did...I wasn't mad at you about what happened down there...I was mad at myself...because of my reaction..." he brought his hands up to wipe at his eyes again.

"Ohh, Dib...Is that all?"

Letting out a small whimper, Dib broke down again. "I wasn't afraid you'd go too far. I was afraid I'd go too far! So I pulled away before that could happen because I didn't want to hurt you!" he exclaimed, unsure whether he would have been able to go all the way through with it had he started.

"Wh-What? Dib, you're not going to hurt me..."

"But I've already hurt so many other people in my life! I've hurt Gaz, I've hurt my dad, hell, I've even hurt one of your leaders! But above all else, I've hurt you more than once already! Every time I react the wrong way, somebody gets hurt!"

"Dib..." Zim sighed. "I don't know what to say..." he moved to yank his antennas again but stopped, dropping his hands back down to his lap.

Noticing Zim go to yank on his antennas again, Dib could feel everything around him crumbling in that moment. "I hurt you again..." he wrapped his arms around himself. "I feel sick..." he whimpered, his antennae shivering.

"Wha-No! Dib, you didn't hurt me! I don't do that because you hurt me, okay? I-I just do it because I don't know what else to do..." Zim sighed, eyeing Dib worriedly. "Are you hungry?" he asked, trying to change the subject before this got out of hand.

Pressing his back against the elevator door and pulling his knees to his chest again, Dib could only shake his head slowly in response. "I'm going to be sick..." he cried, afraid that if he moved he'd lose it all over the kitchen floor.

Eyes widening at those words, Zim scooped Dib up into his arms. "It's okay, Dib..." he said as he stood up slowly to move as smoothly as he could towards the bathroom.

His body shaking in Zim's grip, Dib cried into the other's chest until they reached the bathroom where his stomach finally got the better of him and he coughed up what little he had in his stomach from the previous night. The action painful, he gasped for air, coughing uncontrollably into one of his hands. "Ow..." he whimpered, his throat burning.

Zim rubbed Dib's back gently. "Anything I can do?" he asked, just wanting Dib to feel better.

Dib could only lean to the side a bit against Zim weakly. "I just want to sleep..." he said between sobs, closing his eyes and shuddering. His stomach was upset, his heart hurt, and he was beginning to get a headache now.

Zim nuzzled him. "Want me to carry you to bed?" he asked, knowing Dib probably didn't have it in him to walk back to the bedroom again.

Slipping out of consciousness already, Dib nodded his head slowly. "You're not going to leave me, are you?" he asked, peering up at Zim through barely open slits.

Kissing him gently as he picked him up, Zim smiled. "Of course not..." he said, carrying Dib back to the elevator, sparing all the food that had gone uneaten a quick glance.

Also glancing at all the food Zim had made for him, Dib sighed, his antennae drooping. "I'm sorry I didn't eat any of it earlier..." he apologized before looking back up at Zim. "But if you're hungry, you can bring some of it down with you to eat." he said, starting to get worried about the fact that the other had held off on eating for over 24 hours again because of him.

Glancing longingly at the food, Zim then shook his head. "I can wait." he assured the other, stepping into the elevator with Dib still in his arms.

"Mmmm..." Dib started struggling a bit. "No! Don't do this again! I want you to eat, Zim! I don't want you to wait until I feel like eating again! I don't want you to starve yourself because of me! You promised me you would eat if you got hungry, didn't you? It doesn't do anybody any good if you're starving yourself all the time!" he looked up at Zim pleadingly.

Zim shook his head. "It's okay, Dib. I don't NEED to eat as often as I have been. Maybe once or twice a week max. I can wait." he said, not wanting to eat until Dib felt like eating.

Dib's antennae fell back in an irritated fashion. "Why do you have such a hard time keeping your promises to me? I don't care if you don't NEED to eat! I just want you to regardless of whether you need to or not! Please! If you're not going to do it for yourself, then at least do it for me! I would feel a whole lot better knowing that you're at least eating SOMETHING! Humans can go a certain amount of time without drinking water, but just because they don't need it until they're on the verge of death doesn't mean it's healthy for them to go without it for so long." he didn't like Zim's reasoning for not eating when he was obviously hungry.

"Dib, I'm fine. I can wait one night to eat. Besides, I made that stuff for you."

"And I feel too much like crap right now to eat it! I appreciate the gesture, but I really think it'd be better that you ate some of it rather than just letting it all go to waste like that! Besides...It's been over 24 hours since you last ate...And I never want to see you in the condition you were in when you stumbled upon me at Jack and Rose's house again...Do you have any idea how scared I was for your life when you walked through the door that day?" Dib asked, fighting to keep back the tears.

"Dib...That time I had not slept, eaten, or anything else but searched for over a week. I'm not going to turn into that again after just one day of no food. We'll eat a grand breakfast when we wake up...But for now, let's just sleep."

His antennae drooping even more at all the Irken's protesting, Dib finally gave in. "...Fine...But do you have any idea how much you worry me on a day to day basis?" he asked, though not really expecting to get an answer.

Zim merely shrugged. "Do you know how much you worry ME?" he countered.

Looking back up at Zim, Dib could only blink wide eyes open at that. "I-I wish you would just answer my questions...r-rather than arguing about them with me all the time...Y-You know I don't think about things like that at the time...I-I'm not used to it...I-I'm not used to having somebody worry so much about me all the time...I-I can't even remember the last time I had somebody like you in my life...o-or if I ever did have anybody like that..." his voice fell down to a whisper.

"Well, you do now, and I don't plan on leaving, so you better just get used to it." Zim snapped playfully, kissing him gently.

Blushing a bright pink color at the small kiss, Dib blinked his eyes up at Zim. "A-And do you plan on actually keeping this promise? Because so far you haven't done so well on keeping the rest of your promises like you said you would." he seemed to deflate a bit.

Blushing himself, Zim looked away at those words. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break the others...But I swear I'll keep this one..." he said, laying Dib down, having reached the bed.

Noticing Zim's sudden embarrassment, Dib sent him a slightly guilty look for making him feel that way. "Hey...I know you're going to keep this one..." he said softly before reaching up a hand to caress his cheek lightly. Then, dragging his hand down to Zim's shoulder, he pulled the other onto the bed with him so he could nuzzle into the Irken comfortably before closing his eyes to sleep.

Zim smiled as Dib cuddled up to him. "I love you..." he whispered, his hands wandering down to Dib's belly to begin rubbing it. He really couldn't help himself. It was simply too irresistible to do.

"I love you too..." Dib murmured as he drifted off to sleep once more, Zim's gentle rubbing motions on his stomach causing him to purr contently. Before, he probably wouldn't have felt comfortable with such contact, but in that moment, it was strangely comforting to him.

Thinking that Dib must be starting to trust him finally, Zim smiled wide when the hybrid accepted the rubbing.

Remaining perfectly sound asleep for several long hours as Zim continued to have his fun with his stomach, it wasn't until late at night that Dib awoke to a quiet and dark room. "Mmmm...Zim?" he asked, blinking his eyes open and sitting up slowly just to find that the other was fast asleep next to him. He looked around the room, blinking slowly as he attempted to get a hold of himself. He was lightheaded from a lack of eating in the past 24 hours...or was it 48 now? He didn't know. His sleeping had been so messed up lately, he didn't even know whether it was day or night any longer.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 67 =3 I'll just get to answering reviews now since I don't really have much to report about the story currently

To Guest (Anonymous...with weapons): Hello again, anonymous reviewer...with weapons, and thank you for returning to review this story yet again. =3 It is indeed rather sweet the way Zim goes about trying to make Dib feel better in this story. ^^ Unfortunately for Dib though, he's hormonal throughout the majority of the rest of the story. But can you blame him? He's carrying three smeets! XD Of course, Zim will be there for him regardless because he just loves his hormonal little preggy Dibby, as we all do. XD And yes. It is a coincidence that Jack and Rose share the same names as the two main characters in Titanic. I noticed that also when NGD named them, but she had completely different reasons for naming them that. So it definitely wasn't planned that way. As for the Girtards, I'm speaking mainly of the ones who haven't seen the show and only like IZ because the merchandise sold with Gir on it. I don't mind people who just like Gir though. I mean, hell. I like Gir. But I don't obsess over him like the Girtards do. I think less Gir merchandise should be sold and more Zim or Dib merchandise. Unfortunately, the chances of that happening anytime soon seem slim to none. :/ Nobody wants to pay the price for the legal rights to sell Zim and Dib stuff. They'd rather just stick with Gir because they're too cheap to pay for legal rights to more than one character from the show. But oh well. That's why we true fans must make our own IZ merchandise WITHOUT Gir on it. Oh, and you're welcome for the update. =3 I look forward to hearing back from you again soon. ^^ (with or without weapons. It's up to you.)

To Klara2012zimdib: No need to apologize. I was happy to point the link out to you. ^^ And I'm glad to hear you're still enjoying the story regardless. There will definitely be more to come in the near future, so I hope you enjoy as you continue reading. =3 Until next time~

To Kayla: Well, hello again. So glad you could join us today. =3 There's no need to worry or apologize for lost reviews. Honestly, I'm happy to get any reviews you guys send in, whether big or small. So don't feel as though you need to leave long reviews each and every chapter. I'm just happy to hear you're still enjoying the story and reading it. =3

To TrU-iNSaNiTY: Lol. XD Don't worry about it. As I said last chapter, you're not SUPPOSED to get it...yet. The only point I was trying to make was that there is fanart of that scene posted over on DA already. I didn't want you looking it up before though because it would have given away the MPreg element of the story. The hoodie part doesn't come in for a while now. So there's no need to search for it until much later in the story. As for the amount of time you spent staying up just so you could catch up on the story, that was your own decision to make. XD I don't owe you anything for that. I always tell my readers to take their time and not rush because the story isn't going anywhere. If they decide to stay up late into the night reading the story, that's their own choice to make. But I'm glad you caught up anyways. =3 You should have an easier time following the story from now on. As for the last chapter itself, it's supposed to be filled with lots of tension. This story is practically driven by tension and drama. So there won't be many points in this story where that tension and drama break. It's one of the reasons I tell my readers NOT to rush through it. It's a lot of take in and usually results in information overloads. Lol. XD

To Guest (Anonymous-Laila): Well, hello there, new reviewer, and thank you for taking the time to leave a review on this story. =3 I'm very pleased to hear you're enjoying it so much and trust me, plenty more will be soon to come. I just don't think I would feel right leaving this story unfinished in the long run. So much time went into writing it, there's nothing really that could stop me from finishing it at this point. Not even the dumbasses who give me grief about this story. I just have to rant from time to time. But it's reviewers like you who keep me motivated to continue my writing on this. So I thank you. That said, I do hope to hear back from you again in the future. =3 Until then, however~

To xXx-Monkey-D-KumikoxXX: Well, hello again. =3 I'm so happy to hear I was able to make your night/morning. It's you reviewers who make my nights/mornings with your reviews. So thank you. The least I could do for you guys is reply back in the chapters as a form of thanking you for giving me the motivation to continue. And don't worry about not logging in last time. XD I did enable anonymous reviews again for a reason. As for my A/N's, the only time I write them is when I have something important to say. So I appreciate it when you guys take the time to read through them. Especially if I answer any questions you guys have in them. And no need to feel sad for me. At this point, I think I prefer working on this fic alone. It was very hard to please NGD when working on it with her, so I'm happy to have a bit more freedom now. Besides, I have an awesome new RP partner who's agreed to help me with the end of this story. =3 So it's all good. Nothing I can't handle. And to prove it, here's another new chapter you can squee at. Hope you enjoy~


	67. Chapter 68

ZADR Orange Chapter 68

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Zim was cuddled up to Dib's bulgy belly as he continued to sleep.

Looking back down at Zim, Dib felt torn between getting up to use the bathroom and remaining in bed until the other woke up. Sighing, he decided to go with the latter of the two ideas, flopping back down onto his back, deciding he could wait a little while longer to empty his bladder. After all, his trips to the bathroom HAD been growing less and less over the past couple of weeks, which he at least took as a good sign.

Yawning in his sleep, Zim snuggled closer, ending up lying right on top of Dib's belly.

Wincing slightly at the extra weight on his stomach now, Dib tried to wriggle his way out from underneath the other a bit. "Mmm...Ziiim..." he whined quietly.

Mumbling something, Zim wrapped his arms Dib.

Making another attempt to pull himself out from underneath Zim, Dib let out another small whine. "O-Oww...Zim.." he squeezed one of his eyes shut as the pressure on his still somewhat sore stomach was making him feel rather uncomfortable. "Y-You're squishing me..." he said, attempting to push the sleeping Irken off of him enough that the other wasn't directly on his stomach or his bladder for that matter.

Feeling in his dream that Dib was being taken away, Zim squeezed his eyes tightly shut, holding onto Dib tighter.

That's when Dib really started to struggle. "Ow! Z-Zim!" he whimpered out desperately, squeezing his legs together tightly and turning this way and that in an attempt to pull free from the Irken's grip. "P-Please! Stop!" he begged before attempting to curl in on himself so the other would stop squeezing him so tightly.

Losing his grip on Dib, allowing said hybrid to break free, Zim whimpered in his sleep.

Panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath enough that it didn't hurt so much, Dib pulled his knees up to his chest for a few moments. He was shaken by Zim's squeezing him so tightly, but he didn't have much time to recover as he quickly had to make a trip to the bathroom to relieve himself before his bladder burst.

Gasping at the loss of his warmth, Zim snapped his eyes wide open. He sat up, looking around for Dib before glancing towards the bathroom and sighing in relief when he saw that the door was closed and the light was on, slipping out from underneath said door. He stretched, wondering what time is was. "I should really get a window down here..." he mumbled to himself, just as clueless as Dib was about what time it was.

Finishing up a fairly painful pee from his muscles being somewhat locked up, Dib returned back to the bedroom with his hand pressed to his lower abdomen, a somewhat pained look on his face as all he could do was stare down at the ground beneath him with barely open, tired-looking eyes.

Zim glanced up as Dib came back into the room. "Is everything okay?" he asked, oblivious to everything that had just happened.

Groaning out lowly, Dib took a seat on the edge of the bed and laid back to curl up on one of his sides. "I think you crushed my organs..." he groaned out, squeezing his eyes tightly shut as he wrapped his arms around his abdomen and shuddered. "And I think my bladder shrank in the process..." he said, his antennae drooping.

Flinching at those words, Zim hesitantly reached over and rubbed Dib's back, unsure whether the hybrid still wanted contact after that. "I'm sorry..." he apologized, not having meant to hurt the other.

His antennae shuddering before relaxing, Dib turned back over to face Zim in the bed, nuzzling himself up into the others chest comfortably.

"Mmmmm...Never mind about that..." he said in a tired voice before yawning and blinking his eyes back open to look up at Zim. "Wh-What time is it anyways? I-I've completely lost my sense of time...I don't even know whether it's daytime or nighttime any longer..." he said before closing his eyes and sighing out somewhat contently.

Wrapping his arms loosely around Dib, Zim smiled. "I'm not sure either...I used to hardly ever be down here. I was normally in the main lab...Computer, what time is it?" he addressed his computer, assuming it couldn't be too horribly late out.

Letting out a sort of yawn from being offline for the night, Zim's computer sighed before answering. "It's 3:00a.m..." it replied in its usual monotone voice.

"Really?" Zim asked, surprised by that response. "I thought it was the afternoon..." he had no idea they had slept for THAT long.

Dib sighed. "Great...And I'm fully awake now...Is it too early to get up and eat breakfast?" he asked, curling in on himself more when his stomach growled at him. "I think the smeets are hungry..." he said, running one hand over the slight bulge in his belly.

Hearing his own stomach growl, Zim smiled. "I don't think so." he held a hand out for Dib. "Shall we eat?" he asked, not at all opposed to partaking in an early breakfast.

Lifting his head to look at the hand being offered to him, Dib reached out to take it. "Yeah...I think I can eat now..." he nodded, his nausea gone for the time being.

Grinning wide, Zim helped Dib out of bed before leading him up to the main floor kitchen where the feast from before was still set up. He gestured for Dib to take the place that was set for him then set one up for himself. "Shall we feast?" he asked, feeling as though he could eat the entire table full of food at this point.

Smiling, Dib nodded his head in response. "Yeah! But you sure did make a lot. I don't think even with your help we'll be able to eat ALL of this." he said, his eyes scanning over the array of food set before them.

Zim blushed. "Well...I don't know...I guess I just got carried away." he said, rather flustered now.

"Heh..." Dib laughed a bit uneasily. "Well, I know I'm eating for four, but I don't think these smeets are actually taking in this much yet...Though, maybe when I get farther along they might..." he sighed, antennae drooping a bit before perking back up. "Oh yeah! D-Did you ever ask your computer to figure out how far along I am? O-Or at least, how much longer I'll have to be carrying them for?" he asked, wanting to know so it wouldn't be a complete surprise to them.

"Oh, no. I must have forgotten..." Zim said, food hanging out of his mouth because he was too hungry to eat politely.

Dib snickered into his hand at the way Zim was eating. "Don't choke, Zim..." he said, pulling up a plate for himself to load up with some food. "So, do you think your computer can do that from up here? Scan me, I mean..." he asked, thinking now was as good a time as any to do it.

Zim swallowed another mouthful of food. "Umm, yeah." he nodded, shoveling in more food. "I think it could." he said, his mouth still full.

"Th-Then do you think we could do that NOW?" Dib asked, still watching Zim. He didn't want to put it off for too much longer, otherwise they might forget again and not get it done before it was too late. If he was going to go through with all this, he wanted to keep on top of it and be ready by the time the smeets were ready to be born.

Trying to swallow too much at once, Zim hacked a little. "S-Sure..." he coughed, clearing his voice. "COMPUTER! Scan Dib and tell us when the smeets will be ready." he ordered before returning back to his food.

The computer sighed out, irritated. "Ugh! Don't you have anything better to do than bug me at 3:00 in the morning?" it said before reluctantly beginning its scan on Dib's body and processing the information about a minute or two later.

"Counting back from the security camera's log of when you two first had your little romp under the covers, it would seem he's about 15 weeks along. And taking into account the rate at which the smeets have been growing, it's estimated they're only about 38% developed. So you can expect them to continue growing for about another 24 weeks or so. There! Are you happy now?" it said, just wanting to return to sleep mode already.

Shoving more food into his mouth, Zim thought it over. "Soo...About five more months then? Well, it's not that bad." he shrugged before smiling at Dib.

Staring down at the plate of food in front of him with wide eyes, Dib however was a rather pale white at this point. "5 months...I have to put up with this for another 5 months?" he yelled up at the computer before then turning his attention on Zim to glare at the other, another rush of hormones screwing with his emotions. "And what the hell do you mean, 'It's not that bad'? YOU'RE not the one who has to give birth to something that's going to continue growing for another 5 months! YOU'RE not the one who has to give birth to THREE somethings that are going to continue growing for another 5 months!" he exploded on the other for his lax words.

Eyes widening at the sudden outburst, Zim eeped before shrinking down in his seat, away from Dib. "W-Well, I was just...It's better than six, right?" he laughed nervously, his words not making the situation any better at this point.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 68 =3 I'll just get to answering reviews now since I don't really have much to report about the story currently.

To TrU-iNSaNiTY: Oh, don't worry. I'll definitely keep the chapters coming as much as I physically can. And I'm glad to hear this story has gotten you to like M-Preg. =3 I honestly believe M-Preg is just one of those things that needs to be written well in order to like. Just like with any other topic. No topics out there are "BAD" topics. They just need to be executed properly. And sometimes it just takes that extra nudge from a story, picture, etc. to get you back into a fandom you once enjoyed.

To MonochromeFox: Lol. XD No need to worry. Zim will get Dib to eat eventually. And later on in the story, Dib will have more of an appetite. So don't you worry about those smeets coming out starved. Starving himself is the least of Dib's worries, though you'll see what I mean by that a little later in the story. And Zim can't help but want to do everything in his power to make Dib happy in this story. So he's really not as dominating as you would think. XD I actually think, to an extent, Dib is the one who wears the pants in this relationship. But it is awfully cute watching Zim struggle to take care of Dib. Dib doesn't have anybody else like that in his life, so Zim feels it's the least he could do after knocking Dib up. Lol. XD

To evangelinehaven: Lol. XD D'awwwz. You didn't have to make an account on here just for me. =3 But thank you anyways for the very kind review. ^^ I'm very happy to hear you're enjoying the story so much. And as for my spelling, you're very welcome. =3 I wouldn't be much of a writer if I couldn't spell correctly. XD I mean, I have a bachelor's degree in creative writing. So use of proper spelling/grammar is very important to me. =3 And even though this is an RP (and by far not my best work), I still try to avoid as many typos as I can when working on this. It why I read through every chapter before posting and run it through a spell check. So I can catch those small typos I might make and fix them. =3 Because, like you, I can't stand stories with numerous typos either. XD They make it hard to read and often turn me off to a story completely. So I get where you're coming from. =3 Some people don't think spelling/grammar are important in writing. But on the contrary, you don't want to try and sit through something that's poorly written. Even if the content IS good, it's not worth killing yourself trying to figure out what the author is saying. XD

To Kayla: Lol. XD Another one? Well, thank you for making an account, even though it's obviously not necessary. XD I enabled anonymous reviews again for a reason. =3 So there's no need to sign in if you don't want to. ^^ I'm just always happy to hear from you guys whether you have accounts or not. And I'm glad to hear you're finding this story relatable to real life. =3 I really do try to keep things as realistic as possible when working on this. So it's nice to hear from you guys when I've managed to pull that off.

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Very glad to hear you're still enjoying the story so much. ^^ Thanks for reading, as always. =3

To Mrs Inuyasha Kagome: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter. ^^ And I always feel bad for Zim and Dib also in this story. But they'll get through it all eventually and come out on top. Don't worry. The pregnancy hormones definitely play into a lot of the drama in this story, but pregnancy hormones are temporary. Dib will get over them eventually. =3

To zims mate: Although you are only on Chapter 8 of the story and a far ways away from reading this particular chapter, allow me to welcome you to the review section of ZADR Orange anyways. =3 Should you ever read this review response, I'll just have you know that I'm afraid both Zim and Dib are in for a very bumpy ride in this story. But for the record, they'll both come out on top towards the end of the story. So please don't fret. ^^ Thank you once again for reviewing and have a nice day. =3


	68. Chapter 69

ZADR Orange Chapter 69

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

His antennae falling back to press against his head, Dib narrowed his eyes on Zim even more. "That's not funny, Zim!" he exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the kitchen table.

Zim shrank down into his chair as far as he could. "Haha." he laughed uneasily then swallowed. "R-Right. Not funny." he said more to himself than to Dib.

Hearing the other still laughing, Dib, without thinking, threw his plate of food at Zim. The Irken ducked out of the way just in time to avoid the plate as it crashed against the side of the wall and broke into pieces.

Breathing heavily, Dib seemed to snap out of his sudden rage when he heard the sound of the glass breaking, causing him to blink wide eyes open, his antennae perking. "H-Huh?" he looked around confused, first at Zim, who was hiding behind his chair, then at the broken pieces of glass laying strewn among a pile of food on the floor. "Wh-What happened...?" he asked himself, closing his eyes and bringing a hand up to hold his head. "D-Did I do this?" he asked, opening his eyes back up to look around at the mess of a room again.

Eying Dib wearily and hiding further behind his chair, Zim didn't dare speak for fear of being attacked again.

Seeing the scared look on Zim's face, Dib's eyes widened. "I-I did, didn't I?" he said, antennae drooping as he backed up a bit. "I-I think I need to lay down for a bit..." he said before turning to head on out into the living room so he could lay back down on the side of the couch that didn't have a pile of pregnancy books on it.

Standing back up after a moment, Zim's antennae drooped. "Dib...?" he managed to force out, sighing before going to check on him. "Are you okay?" he asked from his spot in the doorway.

Dib looked back up at Zim from his spot on the couch. "I honestly don't know, Zim. Am I? I just nearly took your head off with that plate, and I can't even explain why I did that so suddenly!" he exclaimed in a rather upset tone. "What's going on with me, Zim? Why does this keep on happening? I get so mad SO suddenly, and I can't even explain why!" he said curling up even more.

Going to Dib's side and shoving the books off of the couch to sit down next to him, Zim smiled softly down at him. "It's okay, Dib. It's normal..." he reached down a hand to run through Dib's hair. "They're just mood swings..." he reassured the other.

Curling up as tightly as possible, Dib rolled over onto one of his sides. "I don't think mood swings are supposed to be so violent...Maybe I really am just insane..." he said in a quiet voice, closing his eyes as though to sleep before perking back up, his eyes opening and antennae lifting as he seemed to shift in his spot a bit uncomfortably.

"Hmm?" he sounded out before then sitting up and reaching under the cushion of the couch to pull out one of the pregnancy books that had fallen under it. "Wh-What's this?" he asked, turning the book this way and that in an attempt to the read the title of said book in the dark, having difficulty doing so however.

Zim noticed Dib's conundrum. "Computer, turn the lights on." he ordered before leaning in to have a look for himself at the book.

Blinking his eyes a few times at the sudden bright light, Dib stared back at the book for a few moments. "The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby" he read the title out loud before reaching down to pick up another pregnancy book. "Your Pregnancy Week-by-Week" he read off that title as well before looking over the pile of books on the ground. "H-Have you even read any of these books?" he asked, just then remembering Zim had bought them for this reason.

Zim blushed at that question. "Well...No, I haven't had time to...Wh-When I got them, you ran away...And then I was looking for you...And now...I-I'm just trying to keep you happy...I-I guess I just kind of forgot about them..." he admitted, not having had the chance to read up on any of this.

Looking them over again, Dib opened one of them and started flipping through the pages, skimming them a bit. "W-Well, are you going to read them?" he asked, lifting his gaze up to look at Zim again.

"Uhh sure." Zim grabbed the closest book to him. "We both can if you want." he said, cracking his book open and starting to scroll down the pages.

Watching Zim from his spot for a few moments, Dib then looked back down at his own book. "Umm...Do you plan on reading up on the...Umm...birthing process...?" he asked, his face flushed a bright red as he knew it would be live rather than what Zim had originally thought it would be.

Zim froze. "U-Uhhh...W-Well, I...Uhh..." he couldn't speak, starting to fidget with the book.

"Uh...Should we? Or should we just wait until it happens and figure it out on our own?" Dib asked that last part really quickly, his cheeks a bright red now.

"Uhh...W-Well...It'd be better to be prepared..." Zim swallowed nervously. "I-I'll read up on it..." he said, knowing it was probably for the better that he did at some point.

"Okay..." Dib became silent after a moment, glancing over at Zim a few times before finally speaking up again. "Should I too? Read up on it, I mean...?" he asked, squirming about in his seat nervously.

Zim hid behind his book uncomfortably. "I-If you want to..." he didn't see what the point was but decided Dib had a right to know what he was in for.

Dib shrank down in his seat a bit at that answer. "W-Well, that's just it...I-I'm NOT so sure I want to...B-But at the same time, I-I feel like I should be prepared too..." he said, not wanting to know what it would be like but feeling as though he didn't really have a choice in the matter.

Zim merely nodded. "...Hey...Don't they have human get-together's for things like this? Maybe we should go to some...You have your holo-disguise still...And I could always fix it up so they would think you were female..." he said, wanting to come up with a way to get around having to read these books.

Dib blushed a bright pink. "U-Umm...I-I guess...B-But I always thought those classes were just for couples who are in the last few weeks of their pregnancy...A-And that they just teach you how to breath and stuff while you're giving birth..." he said, unsure how much they'd actually get out of going to one of those classes.

"Then we will go in the last few weeks." Zim smiled, wrapping an arm around Dib. "Until then, we'll read these books." he said, returning his attention back to the book he was reading.

Dib remained rather tense about the subject however. "M-Maybe I should call Jack and Rose one of these days and ask them about all this...They probably know a lot more about it than we do..." he sighed, tilting over to one side just to end up leaning against Zim.

Zim rubbed his back gently. "That sounds like a good idea..." he agreed, propping one of the books open and continuing to skim it again, holding Dib close all the while. "You just relax." he instructed the other, not wanting to stress Dib out with all this stuff.

Letting his eyelids slip partially closed, Dib then closed his eyes all the way. "Okay..." he said in a soft whisper, resting comfortably against Zim as the other continued to read through the book in his lap. Then, peeking one eye open, he watched the other closely as his eyes scanned the text.

Having started to read up on the birthing process, Zim started to get more and more nervous as it went on. "Oh..." he held Dib tightly, eyes growing wide. 'This is not going to be good.' he thought to himself, knowing Dib wouldn't enjoy this in the least bit when the time came to give birth.

Blinking both his eyes open when he felt Zim tightening his hold on him, Dib stared back up at the Irken. "Hmm?" he noticed the uneasy look on Zim's face. "Is everything alright?" he asked, following Zim's gaze back down to the book he was reading before attempting to sit up more so he could have a look for himself at what the other was reading.

Wanting the pull the book away, Zim bit down on his lower lip and forced himself not to, knowing Dib wanted to see. It was horrible the things Dib was going to have to go through. Sighing sadly as Dib read through everything he had just read, he nuzzled the hybrid affectionately. "I'm sorry..." he apologized before Dib even had a chance to get to the bad part of it.

"Hmm?" Dib glanced back at Zim for a moment. "For wha-Oh, God!" he cut himself short upon returning his attention back to the book. Then, grabbing it from the other to look at closely so he could make sure he was reading it correctly in this light, he could feel his world spinning. "Zim, I think I'm going to..." he didn't have time to finish as his eyes rolled back and breathing grew shakier before blacking out on the other.

"D-Dib? Dib? Oh, Irk!" Zim pulled him close, rocking back and forth as he held Dib close in his arms. Feeling terrible, he nuzzled him, kissing the side of his face. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." he repeated over and over to the unconscious Dib before picking him up bridal style and carrying him back down to the lab. "Computer! Is Dib okay?" he asked once he had gotten down into his lab, the boy not coming around as quickly as he had hoped.

Giving up on returning to sleep mode anytime soon, the computer sighed, scanning Dib without complaint. "He's just unconscious. Nothing else seems to be wrong with him at the moment." it replied, not really caring whether Dib was alright or not.

Holding Dib close, Zim nodded slowly. "W-Well, what should I do?" he asked, trying to stay calm but finding it difficult to do so.

"How should I know? I'm no psychic about these sorts of things..."

Tilting his head first to one side and then the other in Zim's grip, Dib let out a small groan. "Zim...?" he murmured in a semi-unconscious state.

Zim's eyes snapped back to him. "Dib? A-Are you okay?" he asked all at once, stroking his hair gently, passing one hand over his antennae. He really did love that hair. It was calming to play with for him.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 69 =3 Until next time~


	69. Chapter 70

ZADR Orange Chapter 70

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

"Wh-What happened?" Dib asked, blinking his eyes just barely open to look around before closing them again and sighing when Zim began running his fingers along the length of his antennae. "Mmm..." he sounded out in a content hum.

"You passed out..." Zim pet his antennas gently, trying to get him to feel as good as he could without going too far. "I-I'm sorry, Dib...I don't know how I can fix this..." his voice shook.

A small purr escaping him, Dib merely pushed more into the feeling. "Mmmmm...You promised to stay with me no matter what... Just don't leave me for even a second and maybe things will turn out alright..." he slurred a bit, his mind swimming as he became lost to Zim's ministrations.

Keeping up his rubbing, Zim smiled. "I won't leave you, Dib... I promise... This time I mean it more than ever." he said in a soft voice to the other.

"Good..." Dib nuzzled into Zim's chest, antennae perking when his stomach growled suddenly. He hadn't gotten the chance to eat upstairs because he had thrown his plate at Zim earlier. "Mmm... Now I'm really hungry..." he whined into the other's chest in a muffled voice.

Zim laughed a little. "Computer, bring some food down for Dib. I don't feel like going back up." he said, getting comfortable with his human hybrid.

Sighing, the computer delivered a plate of food down to them for Dib. "There... Are you happy NOW? Or do you plan on ordering me around for the remainder of the day?" it said in a rather irritated fashion.

Staring at the plate of food, Dib then looked back up at Zim. "A-Are you going to continue reading that book you were looking at? O-Or any of the other books upstairs? he asked.

"Maybe later... I-I don't think I can right now..."

"Hmm?" Dib blinked his eyes at the suddenly very pale looking Irken. "Hey...You're not going to faint or anything when I go into labor with the smeets, are you? Cause that would REALLY be a bad time for something like that to happen to either of us..." he said, looking rather concerned now.

Zim wrapped his arms tighter around Dib. "I refuse. Zim will not faint like a stupid worm-baby..." he kissed Dib, nuzzling into his neck. "I won't pass out..." he then whispered a second time to himself, as if for reassurance.

Dib sighed out in some relief. "Okay, good... Because so far as I see, you'll be the one delivering them... That is, unless you have some other alternative in mind..." he said, pulling the plate of food up to rest on his chest so he could begin nibbling on some of it.

"No... It'll have to be me...The only other ones who could help would be Gaz and Tak... And I doubt they'd want to see you naked..."

Staring down at the ground now in some embarrassment, Dib blushed a bit. "E-Even if they did offer to help, I-I wouldn't want them in the room while it's happening..." he said, having grown rather stiff at the other's words.

Giggling a little, Zim smiled. "What? Are you shy, Dibbers?" he poked a bit of fun at the boy.

Snapping his head up to stare at the Irken with wide eyes, Dib's face flared up an even brighter red at the other's words. "W-Well...I-I ummm...I-It's private, okay? Nobody else should have any reason to be in the room with us when it's happening!" he exclaimed before dropping his gaze back down to stare at the ground shyly, unable to look back up at Zim now.

Zim sighed. "Dib, you're painfully shy of everything about you... You won't even let me see you naked, and we live together... and you're pregnant..." he was starting to find the other's shyness to be just a little bit ridiculous.

"W-Well, what reason do you have for wanting to see me naked in the first place?" Dib sent Zim an all too serious look. "C-Can't you find some other way to get yourself off like most other people do?" he dropped his gaze back down to the ground, furrowing his eyebrows.

Looking away, Zim blushed. "I-I love you... I'm sorry... I just... Guess I can't help myself... I want you to myself. ALL of you..." he tried to find the right words to get that point across.

Bringing his gaze back up to look at Zim a bit curiously, Dib tilted his head to one side. "Well, what about me is it that you find so attractive anyways? Haven't you already taken from me everything you could take? I don't know what else you could possibly want from me at this point...Haven't I already given all of myself to you?" he honestly had no idea what more Zim could want.

Zim looked back over at him. "Don't talk like that, Dib! Everything about you is attractive! I love your hair!" he ruffled Dib's hair. "And your cute little antennas!" he smoothed them down. "The way you see things other people can't!" he stroked his cheek. "How you can be so strong in what you believe in no matter what anyone else says!" he kissed Dib's lips. "H-How...you can stand to be around me..." he sighed and looked away again. "We had sex, Dib...but...when you didn't remember it...it just wasn't the same...and now you are afraid of me..." his antennae drooped.

"So...You want to have sex with me again..." Dib blushed, fidgeting in his spot again. He wasn't afraid of Zim, just nervous about doing it again. His antennae drooped. "...I'm sorry...I really wish I could remember it..." he hugged himself tightly. "I don't want you to think that way though...I don't want you to think that I'm afraid of you because of that...Because I'm really NOT afraid of you..." he said, looking back up at Zim.

Hugging Dib tightly, Zim sighed. "And I don't want to force you to do anything, Dib...But you can't stop me from wanting it...You can get mad at me for it...But I can't help how I feel towards you..." he said, resting his chin against the top of Dib's head.

Nuzzling his face into the other's neck, Dib sighed out lightly to himself. "I know...I just wish I could bring myself to give you what you wanted..." he said, feeling pretty useless in that moment.

Rubbing his belly, Zim pet Dib gently before sighing. "I know..." he said in a whisper, avoiding eye contact.

Feeling horrible now, Dib's antennae drooped even more. "...Is there something wrong with me that I can't do this...? Why was I so easily able to do it with you that first time but can't anymore...? Wh-Why can't I just remember it...?" he asked himself, sighing when he couldn't come up with a reason.

Zim smiled a little. "You think too much about things...Last time we weren't thinking...We just did it." he shrugged.

"W-Weren't...thinking? Dib repeated, looking back up at Zim before dropping his gaze back down to the ground. "B-But the only time I'm not thinking is when I'm sick or hurting..." he didn't understand how he couldn't have been thinking about it at the time.

"Then that's probably why we ended up having sex...You were hurting...And technically, you were running a fever at the time."

"I-I...don't remember...B-But what good is it to us if we have to wait every time for me to be sick or in pain just to have sex...? Things shouldn't be that way!"

Zim's antennas drooped. "I'm sorry..." he apologized a second time, feeling as though this were his entire fault now.

The tears coming now, Dib hid his face away in Zim's shirt. "It isn't right to feel this way...I should want you every second of every day...B-But I don't feel that urge to have sex with you all the time like you do for me..." his voice came out strained. "It's not fair! I want to want you every moment I'm with you and not with you! B-But I've just felt content to be with you...To know that somebody actually wants to be with me no matter what my mood..." he sobbed, wiping his tear stained cheeks on the other's shirt.

"Dib. Dib, it's okay." Zim wrapped his arms around him, holding the younger one close. "You're still so young, Dib. Contentment is all I could really ask of you. It's okay." he tried to soothe the crying hybrid.

"But I love you so much! And you love me! It's not fair to feel only content! I want to feel something stronger than that! Contentment is an emotion that can be felt between any two people, even if they're just friends! I want our relationship to mean more than that though! I want it to be something special!" Dib exclaimed, an array of emotions exploding out of him all at once.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 70. =3 Until next time~


	70. Chapter 71

ZADR Orange Chapter 71

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Zim sighed. "Maybe..." he looked away. "Maybe we just weren't really supposed to be together, Dib..." he said, his voice just barely that of a whisper.

Antennae perking suddenly, Dib snapped his head up to stare at Zim with wide, tearful eyes when he said that. Then, without any warning at all, he pulled away from the other, his antennae drooping as he took a few steps back before turning to head for the elevator, a complete wreck now.

"D-Dib?" Zim sighed heavily and finally gave up, worn out from trying so hard. Holding his head in his hands, he curled up on the spot. "I just don't know what to do..." he said to the quiet room.

Shakily making it to the elevator, Dib collapsed onto his knees inside it and broke down as it brought him up to the house level of the base. Upon coming to a halt, he picked himself up and made his way over to the couch in the living room, looking back behind himself as though waiting to see whether Zim would come after him or not.

When five minutes passed with no sign of the other trying to stop him, he gave up all hope of having a successful relationship with Zim and headed for the door, telling himself this would be the last time he left, only this time it would be permanently.

He didn't have to think about where he was going this time as he headed out into the darkness towards Jack's and Rose's house, knowing that if he headed for Tak's base at 5:00 in the morning, either she or Gaz would surely kill him for waking them up so early.

"Master, your mate left." the computer said to annoy him.

"...I know...He can't stand me anymore...I don't know what else to do. I've tried everything!" Zim balled up again, deciding he wasn't going to leave that spot. He figured Dib would probably go stay with Tak and Gaz, or, more likely, with Jack and Rose, but he didn't care. He forced himself not to care. Dib would be better off without him around to make his life hell. "I'll just sit here till I die...then he'll be able to be happy..." he said to himself.

Meanwhile, across town, Jack yawned as he went to answer the door, having been asleep and not expecting anyone at this time of day. "Hello?" he said wearily as he opened the door. His eyes snapped open upon seeing who had knocked. "Dib?" he asked, in a bit of shock.

Sobbing uncontrollably at this point, Dib stood outside the door. "I'm sorry...I didn't know where else to go..." he hugged himself, antennae falling back as he gasped for air in between sobs, just wanting to fall down and die right then and there. He physically felt as though his heart had been painfully ripped out, stomped on, and then thrown to the side.

"Oh, Dib." Jack wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into the house. "It's okay. Come on. Tell me what happened." he tried to coax Dib into explaining things.

Practically hyperventilating at this point, Dib shook violently in Jack's arms. "He...He broke up with me..." he said, that being the only thing he could manage to get out before curling in on himself.

Jack's eyes widened more. "Oh, Dib." he pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry..." he led Dib over to the couch to let him sit down. "Are you sure he broke up with you? Zim didn't seem like that kind of person when we met him..." he said, trying to make sense of the situation.

"H-H-He said he thought we weren't meant to be together...A-And then when I left, he didn't even try to stop me...HE JUST WANTED ME TO LEAVE FOR GOOD THIS TIME!" Dib breathed heavily, doubling over when he felt a sharp pain ripping through his abdomen. He was panicking.

"Dib? Dib, calm down! Please just breathe slowly. Come on. You're going to hurt yourself and the babies if you don't!" Jack rubbed his back carefully, trying to help.

Having gone too far into shock to stop himself from panicking, Dib could hear Jack's words but otherwise couldn't respond.

Yawning, Rose made her way down the stairs tiredly. "Jack? What's going on down here?" she asked, all the commotion downstairs having woken her up.

Worried, Jack looked up at Rose. "Rose, he's hyperventilating! Quick! Get a bag or something! We need to calm him down!" he ordered her, pointing in the direction of the kitchen.

Gasping upon seeing Dib, Rose ran to the kitchen, bringing back a paper bag, which Jack used to cover Dib's mouth.

Struggling a bit to pull away, Dib, however, just seemed to panic even more at having the paper bag placed over his mouth, his mind in a complete daze as a feeling of light-headedness began to overtake him.

Pulling the bag away as Dib seemed to slump in his hold, Jack sighed and rubbed the boy's back gently.

"What happened?"

"...He said Zim broke up with him..."

"What? B-But why would he do that? I thought they were getting along so well when they left."

"I don't know...There might be more to this than what he told me, but he started panicking before I could ask..."

"Jack, he's pregnant...What is he going to do if Zim isn't there for the birth of those babies?" Rose looked up at Jack worriedly.

Jack shook his head. "I'm going over there. I'll wait till morning... But I'm going to see what's going on. Will you stay with Dib while I'm gone?" he asked, turning to look back at her.

"O-Of course...We can't just leave him here all alone." Rose said, scooting in closer to Dib so she could shift his weight off of Jack and into her lap, running one of her free hands through his hair softly. "Do you think we should wait until Dib wakes up first though?" she asked, wanting to get a clearer story from him before they did anything too rash.

Rubbing his head, Jack nodded. "Yeah. Maybe he'll be more willing to give his side of what happened..." he sighed, agreeing to wait.

QQQ

Everything was spinning, merging together in a sickening way when Dib next awoke. He could hear voices calling out to him, but it took him several minutes to focus on who it was speaking. Groaning out dizzily, he tried to blink his eyes open though it made him want to hurl. Closing his eyes again, he was at least relieved to recognize the voice as he turned his head to one side before responding in a weak voice.

"Dib...Dib..." Rose called out, stroking his face gently. "Dib, are you alright?" she asked when she realized he was beginning to respond a bit.

Dib groaned again. "Rose?" he asked, wanting to make sure it was her and not just his imagination.

"Oh, thank goodness! Jack! Jack, he's waking up!"

Dressed in regular clothes now, Jack rushed into the room. "Dib, are you okay?" he asked.

Attempting to sit up but finding himself being bowled over by another bout of dizziness, Dib could only respond with another weak groan. "Oooowww..." he whimpered, wanting to cry from the pain in his head but willing himself not to, knowing it would only make him feel worse in the end.

Rose stroked his hair lightly. "Dib? Are you okay?" she asked one last time when he didn't answer the first two times.

"Can you tell us what happened?"

"Oh, lay off for a minute, Jack. Let him wake up."

Breathing shallowly, Dib didn't even attempt to move again as all he could do was lay there. He did, however, make another attempt to open his eyes just a bit to try and get an idea of where he was.

Smiling softly, Rose continued petting him. "Feeling better?" she asked, just rephrasing their earlier question.

"Mmm...M-My head hurts..." Dib said as his vision jumped about again, this time less from dizziness and more from the tears that were beginning to well up in his eyes again. He had been hoping it was all just a terrible dream, but now he was certain. Zim was really gone and hadn't come after him like he had hoped. Things were over between them.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 71. =3 Before I get to spamming you guys with another mass updatage however, allow me to respond to those of you who reviewed.

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Thanks a ton for the reviews on the last three chapters. =3 I'm happy to hear your loving and still finding the story awesome. And try not to worry too much about poor Dibbles. Both he and Zim will be sure to come out on top in the end. Thanks for reading~

To Kuro: Lol. XD You're very welcome for the chapter overload. And allow me to say your welcome for the chapter overload I'm about to post again today. =3 I really do hope you continue to enjoy the chapters as they come out. And yes. I agree. XD Dib probably would be staring at something like that all night long, if not at Zim. As for the computer, I like to just think Zim's computer is lazy and doesn't get bossed around as much as Zim and Dib are currently pushing it. I mean, Zim certainly wasn't relying on the computer TOO much before Dib came along. XD But anyways. As for Jack and Rose's house, as I'm certain you noticed in this chapter, it is a rather safe haven for the both them and actually sets the stage for a lot of this story in the future. This story certainly does have several ups and downs. So I'm glad you can enjoy the content moments that come in between the more dramatic. And things are definitely easier without NGD. As for where it's being posted, there are only two places this story currently resides. And one of those places is FF. I doubt I'll be posting it anywhere else though. It gets plenty enough attention both here on FF and on DA. So I'm happy. ^^ Anyways, thanks again for reading. =3 Until next time~


	71. Chapter 72

ZADR Orange Chapter 72

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Jack sat next to Dib and Rose on the couch. "Dib, do you think you could tell us what happened?" he asked.

Hands shaking, Dib brought them up to his face to cry into. "H-He doesn't think we're supposed to b-be together...j-just because I can't bring myself t-to have an urge to s-sleep with him 24/7 l-like he feels towards me... B-Because I can't bring myself to give ALL of myself to him! A-And because the strongest feeling I have towards him is o-only contentment just being around him..." he said.

"Oh..." Jack looked at Rose for help.

"Uhh...W-Well, are you sure that he really meant that he wanted to break up with you? P-Perhaps he was just frustrated. A-And did you two get a chance to even talk it over before you left? M-Maybe it was just a case of miscommunication between you two. For all we know, h-he could be out there looking for you again."

"BUT HE DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO STOP ME FROM LEAVING! I gave him a chance to stop me before I left! I waited upstairs for him to come up and try to work things out! But he never came! Even though he promised me he would never leave my side again no matter what... He promised me, and I asked him whether he really meant it... He said he did, but if he really meant it, then why am I here and he's not?" Dib curled in on himself, his tears coming more and more now.

Jack's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to talk to him." he said.

Dib's antennae fell back at those words. "I don't want to see him though!" he yelled, in a more angry voice now. "I'm tired of being hurt by him constantly! He never keeps any of his promises, and I'm sick of it!" he didn't want Zim anywhere near him at this point.

"Then I won't bring him here. But Dib, I have to see what's going on."

"Why? There's no point in trying to fix things up between us! In fact, there's no point in me even continuing to chase after somebody who hurts me so much! At this point, I don't even want him anywhere near me! All I want is to forget!" Dib exclaimed in a truly hurt voice.

"Dib, honey. You don't mean that. We know you love him. And what about your babies?"

Jack sighed. "No, it's okay. I won't do anything. Okay, Dib?" he lied, still planning on doing something.

"I don't care! I don't want to see him! It's too painful!"

"Dib...You have to care...I know you. You're a loving person."

A knock at the door interrupted them.

"Hmm? Now, I wonder who that could be." Rose said, looking back up at Jack. "Can you get that, hon?" she asked, not wanting to leave Dib.

Nodding his head, Jack went to get the door, his eyes widening with surprise. "Z-Zim?" he asked, surprised to see the other.

"...Can I see Dib?" Zim asked, avoiding eye contact. He had spent the night thinking it over, replaying everything over and over in his mind, and he had come up with a plan. But he had to see Dib to put it into action.

Unsure whether right then was the right time to let Zim see Dib, Jack sighed. "Weeell...Come on in..." he gave in, stepping aside to let the Irken inside. "But can we have a talk in private before I let you see Dib? I don't think right this second would be the best time to see him. H-He's pretty angry right now, and I'm not so sure what he would do if you saw him at this very moment...Besides, he's just now recovering from a panic attack he had earlier this morning." he said, afraid something similar might happen if he let Zim see him.

"...Please...I just need to see him...I'll leave right after...I-I won't even speak..."

Jack sent him a slightly confused look. "Well...Okay...B-But I can't promise you he won't yell at you when you go in there..." he said, leading Zim to the room Dib was in.

"I know..." Zim followed Jack, feeling a little edgy but sure of what he had to do.

"D-Dib...There's someone here to see you..."

His antennae pressed to the back of his head, Dib was at this point sitting up stiffly, having already had an idea of who was at the door. "I don't want to see him..." he said, refusing to even lift his gaze to acknowledge Zim's presence.

Eyes averted, Zim walked up to Dib. "Dib...Please..." he pulled a small, metal pen-like device out of his PAK and held it up. "Just look at me..." he said, hoping the other would do as he asked.

Antennae pressing as far back against his head as possible, Dib glared at the ground below him. "Go away..." he didn't want to hear anything the other had to say to him.

"Dib...I'll go away, but only if you look at me...just for a second."

Dib just continued to stare down at the ground. "No! I don't want to look at you! Don't you get it? It hurts to look at you! If you really think we're not meant to be together because of me, then why don't you go and look for whomever the hell it is you think you're meant to be with and leave me alone? You were probably thinking that since day one and just leading me on so you could get inside my pants!" he turned his head away from the other.

"NO, I WASN'T! I LOVE YOU! I WOULD NEVER LEAD YOU ON, DIB! JUST LOOK AT ME!" he held the pen-like device tighter, placing a finger on the top of it.

Dib finally snapped. "AND WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU? YOU'VE BROKEN EVERY PROMISE YOU'VE EVER MADE TO ME! EVEN THE ONE YOU TOLD ME YOU MEANT! THE ONE YOU PROMISED NOT TO BREAK LESS THAN 24 HOURS AGO!" he retorted, Zim's words meaning nothing to him any longer.

"I KNOW I DID! DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT? LOOK AT ME, DAMMIT!"

"NO!" Dib clung to Rose, hiding his face away in her shirt. "No..." he shook, breaking down even more. "I've lost everybody in my life already, Zim...I lost my mom...I lost my dad...I lost my sister...and now I'm losing you...Don't make me watch you go too...If you're going to go, just go already...Please..." he pleaded with the other not to put him through this.

"Please...I don't WANT to go, Dib...Just LOOK at me...A-And if you still want me to leave afterwards, then I'll go..." he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, the pen-like device still at the ready.

Dib could only whimper into Rose's shirt. "Why are you doing this to me...?" he asked before raising his head to look over at Zim with tears streaming down his face non-stop.

With a sudden gasp, Zim pressed the top of the pen and a bright flash went off in front of Dib's face. Then, Dib fell back into Rose's lap. "I'm sorry...But you'll be better off if none of this ever happened..." he sniffled and then put the pen-like device down.

"WH-WHAT DID YOU DO?" Jack demanded when Dib passed out.

"I wiped his memory..."

Panicking, Rose was by then holding Dib close. "Zim! How could you just do this to him? You have to undo this now! He's pregnant for crying out loud! What do you expect him to do when the babies come and he has no idea what's going on with himself?" she demanded.

Placing the pen-like device back in his PAK, Zim reached out to take Dib. "He will think I did evil alien experiments on him and hate me for the rest of his life...like it should be..." his voice shook somewhat.

Holding Dib closer when Zim reached out for him, Rose's eyes widened. "Don't come any closer, Zim! You're not taking him with you!" she glared back at the Irken.

"Give me my Dib-love! Or do you want to lose your memory too?"

Rose started to back up on the couch with Dib. "No, Zim! J-Just leave him alone!" she refused to listen.

Wasting no time at all, Jack, within a matter of seconds, cut Zim off from Rose and Dib. "You leave them alone, Zim! I'm not letting you lay a finger on either of them!" he said, not about to let the alien walk out of there with Dib without a fight.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 72. =3 Until next time~


	72. Chapter 73

ZADR Orange Chapter 73

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Pulling out his PAK legs, Zim glared at Jack. "You don't think this is hard enough? I closed off all his memories since our first kiss!" he exclaimed.

"Zim! There are other ways you can handle this! Making him forget everything and hate you isn't the answer!"

Curled around Dib protectively at this point, Rose's eyes widened suddenly in realization of something. "...Y-You weren't planning on aborting these babies, were you...?" she asked.

"WH-WHAT? NO! I would NEVER do that! I'll keep him with me till he's come to term, then he can go home. I already wiped his father's mind..."

"And what are you planning on doing with him until then? What exactly are you planning on telling him? You can't exactly hide a pregnancy from him!"

"I wasn't planning on it." Zim said, arming his PAK legs again. "He used to always expect stupid experiments and such from me. He will think nothing of it. I will make sure he is unconscious when he gives birth. Then I will let him go home after he has healed. After that, I'll leave the earth for good." he said.

"That's not just 'some stupid experiment', Zim! You can't just make him think of them as nothing but 'some stupid experiment'! Because he's pregnant, he already has a bond with those babies as their mother! And that's not something you can just break up that easily! Even if you did let him go afterwards, do you really think he would just shrug the entire incident off and leave, knowing that you were keeping his babies to yourself?"

PAK legs slumping a little, Zim looked away. "There's nothing else I can do...He hates me no matter what..." he said.

"No, he doesn't, Zim! He doesn't hate you! He was just upset because he thinks you broke up with him! But I know there must have been more to that story than what he was telling us! You don't seem like the kind of person who would just break up with him! And I'm certain he must have just taken something you said wrong! There was still a chance you two could have worked things out!"

"NO THERE WASN'T!" Zim sniffled, wiping his eyes. "JUST GIVE HIM TO ME!" he exclaimed.

"Zim, if you take him, all it will serve to do is prove his point! From what he's told us, he thinks you only consider his feelings to be true love if he wants to sleep with you! You should be trying to convince him though that love has nothing to do with whether he wants to sleep with you or not! Otherwise, he'll just continue to believe that your feelings for him were tied only to wanting sex!"

"I've TRIED telling him that! I've tried telling him in every way I can think of! He never believes me!" Zim struck out, pinning Jack to the far wall and stepping closer to Rose. "Give him to me!" he exclaimed.

One of Zim's spider legs piercing his shoulder, Jack let out a pained noise as he was roughly shoved into the wall, struggling nonetheless to pull free.

"Jack!" Rose returned her scared eyes to Zim, who was standing over her now. She tightened her grip on Dib. "Please, Zim! Please don't just give up on your relationship with him! I know it can be difficult to get things through to him, but that's just how things are when you're dealing with a teenager! He needs time to think things over!" she tried to get through to him.

But Zim refused to listen to her anymore. "Give. Him. To. Me." he emphasized his words even more.

"NO! I'm not going to let you hurt him anymore! Hasn't he already been through enough? He was happiest when he was with YOU, Zim! If you take his memories away of all the bad times, then you're taking all his memories of the good times away too! You're leaving him with nothing, Zim! You're sending him back into a life that has nothing good to offer him! You're sending him back into a life he'll be miserable in!"

"JUST GIVE HIM TO ME!" Zim refused to listen to even one more word Rose had to say to him. Using his last two PAK legs, he then pinned her up against the wall as well. "It seems you're better off not knowing what has happened either." he growled as he went to pick Dib up delicately in his arms, holding him bridal style. "Lucky for you, I don't have time to wait for the mind wipe function to recharge." he said before walking to the door then setting Rose back down onto the couch gently, not wanting to hurt her or her unborn child. "Good bye." he said, pulling his PAK legs back into his PAK, letting Jack fall to the ground in the process before he turned heel and ran for his base.

"No! Dib!" Rose screamed as all she could do was watch helplessly. Then, when she had finally recovered from the shock of the situation, she crawled over to where Jack was laying, his shoulder bleeding heavily. "J-Jack...W-We need to get you to a hospital..." she said, having to pull her mind away from Dib for the time being, at least certain that Zim wouldn't harm Dib while he had him.

Meanwhile, back with Zim, Zim had by then rushed Dib back to his base and down into his lab. He lay Dib down gently onto a small bed he had set up in a large cage sitting in the middle of the room. He had to make sure Dib didn't escape until after the smeets were born. He then proceeded to pet the hybrid's head gently, stroking his hair lovingly before Dib could wake up. He at least wanted to get a few more minutes of comfort in before he was hated again.

His antennae twitching slightly from all the small touches, Dib let out a small groan in his unconscious state.

Kissing the top of Dib's head, Zim smiled sadly before checking the clock and sighing. "He'll be waking up in a few minutes..." he said to himself, laying Dib gently in the bed, under the covers. He then left the cage, closing the cell door behind him.

"Ugh...Mmm...Wha-? Where...Where am I?" Dib asked as he blinked his eyes open, the room he was in a horrible blur.

"Hello, Dib-thing." Zim greeted him, standing right outside the cage and watching him.

"H-Huh? Wh-What?" Dib sat up suddenly, looking about the place with wide eyes. "Wh-What's going on here?" he nearly panicked before noticing Zim standing outside the cage. Wasting absolutely no time at all, Dib was back up in an instant, running over to where the cage's bars were and shaking them. "What the hell is going on, Zim? Let me out of here!" he demanded, glaring daggers at the Irken.

"I don't think so, Dib. Just sit back and relax. You're going to be here for a few months."

"What are you planning, Zim? Huh? HUH?" Dib continued to struggle even more. "Just you wait! I'll find a way out of here, and when I do, I'll stop whatever the hell it is you're planning on doing, you horrible, alien monster!" he screamed, eyes narrowing even more on the Irken. He had no idea how he had gotten in there, nor did he remember Zim capturing him.

"Just keep thinking that, Dib." Zim sighed before glancing at Dib's belly, a small smile creeping onto his face when he thought Dib wasn't paying attention.

Looking up just in time, however, Dib noticed Zim's smile. "What the hell is so goddamn funny?" he screamed at the other, finding nothing about this moment to be amusing at all.

Flinching, Zim shook his smile off. "Nothing, Dib. Now go REST." he glared at the hybrid so as to keep up the act.

"Do you honestly think I'm that stupid?" Dib yelled at him, his glare never once letting up. "Who knows what horrible things you might try to do to me in my sleep!" he exclaimed, shaking the bars to the cage as roughly as he could. Dropping his eyes down for just a split second, it was at that very moment that his eyes grew perfectly wide as he for the first time realized he was missing 2 fingers on each hand. "What the-?" he brought them up to stare at with a horrified look on his face. "What the hell did you do to me?" he screamed.

"You know...experiments." Zim waved his hand in the air, not elaborating and rather allowing Dib to come up with his own conclusions about what had happened to him.

"You fucking asshole!" Dib screamed, his body beginning to shake now. "Whatever it is you did to me, undo it now! Change me back to the way I was before!" he demanded, beginning to throw himself against the bars of the cage in a desperate attempt to escape. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be fucking happening. He was just having a terrible nightmare he kept telling himself in his mind, throwing his body weight harder and harder against the cage but finding himself getting worn out far faster than what was normal for him.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 73. =3 Until next time~


	73. Chapter 74

ZADR Orange Chapter 74

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Worried Dib would hurt himself or the smeets, Zim's eyes widened. "CUT IT OUT!" he exclaimed.

Panting heavily at this point, Dib only continued to throw himself against the cage door despite how tired he was growing. "Not until you let me out!" he screamed, his thrusts becoming weaker and weaker with every passing second. But before he even realized it, he was on his knees, kneeling by the door to the cage, a flood of tears streaming down his face. He was hurting, but he couldn't put his finger on a reason why.

Zim gasped. 'Oh, Dib.' he kneeled down and stroked his cheek, unable to help himself. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Slapping the Irken's hand away, Dib instantly pulled away from the touch. "Don't touch me!" he hissed out, antennae pressed as far back against his head as possible. "Don't touch me..." he said in a stern voice as he shook where he sat, glaring at the Irken. "It hurts when you touch me..." he whimpered out, his chest aching for some reason unknown to him. The touch had been so gentle, almost familiar, that he almost wanted to give in to it, but he had pulled away instantly before he could let his guard down.

Shaking his head, Zim sighed. "Sorry..." he said.

"Don't say that!" Dib pulled his knees to his chest. He didn't know why, but the Irken's words hurt worse than anything the other had done to him as he brought up his hands to cry into. "J-Just go away..." he didn't want to hear or see the Irken, just everything about him making him want to cry.

Zim's antennae wilted. 'Even when he doesn't remember why, he still hates me for it...' he thought. "I'll just be off, doing evil stuff then..." he walked back into the dark of the lab but stayed close enough so he could still see Dib.

Finally breaking down all the way when he thought Zim was gone, Dib curled in on himself and sobbed into his arms. "Wh-Why are you doing this to me...? Why are you making me into such a wreck...?" he sobbed to himself, his antennae drooping.

Hearing Dib's words, Zim flinched and slid to the floor sadly before whispering to himself. "I'm sorry... I thought you would forget..." he said.

Finally crying himself to sleep in the corner of the cage after an hour or two of crying, not even bothering to use the bed set up for him inside it, Dib slept soundly for several hours but awoke when he felt something that had him sitting bolt upright. "What the-?" he brought a hand down to his stomach, a small ripple of movement spooking him enough to make him let out a short-lived scream.

Jumping to his feet, Zim was back at the side of the cage before he could blink. "What is it? What happened?" he saw Dib staring horrified at his belly. Kneeling down, he reached over, placing a hand on it and feeling the movement. "Oh..." his eyes watered up a little, and he wished more than ever to hug Dib right then. "They're alive..." he said.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON, ZIM? WHAT'S ALIVE? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?" Dib screamed, slapping the Irken's hand away from him and scooting away from where Zim could touch him.

Zim sighed. "The smeets..." he watched Dib sadly.

"Sm-Smeets? What do you mean, 'smeets'? What's going on here, Zim?"

"Smeets...Or as you humans seem to call them, 'babies.'"

Dib's eyes could only grow perfectly round at the other's words. "Wh-Wha? Wh-What did you just say?" his entire body was trembling. "N-Not possible! I-It's just not possible!" he held his head with both hands as he backed up even more, breathing heavily as he swayed unsteadily.

"Dib?" Zim eyed him uneasily. "Lay down on the bed." he said.

Able to hear Zim's words but shaking them off, Dib shook his head repeatedly in an attempt to make sense out of all of this. "Y-You're lying...You're lying! It's not physically possible! Tell me what's really going on!" he screamed, what seemed to be another panic attack overcoming him.

Worried, Zim noticed this. "Lay down on the bed or I won't tell you anything!" he exclaimed.

"No! You're lying! You'll hurt me again! That's all you ever do!" Dib was rambling now, his heavy breathing turning into hyperventilation. "I don't believe you...I don't believe you..." he muttered over and over again to himself, staring down at the ground with wide, dazed eyes.

"DIB! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! Since when do you give up? Especially in my base!" Zim kneeled down, staring him in the eyes. "You aren't human anymore, Dib. That's how you're pregnant." he said.

Zim's words finally seeming to catch his attention, Dib fell to his knees before looking up at Zim. "If I'm not human, then what the fuck am I? And how did I even get pregnant to begin with in the first place?" he exclaimed.

"Uhh...E-Experiment... And you're a hybrid. Half Irken, half human."

Back up on his feet and at the front of the cell before Zim had time to even realize what was happening or respond, Dib managed to grab hold of the Irken's shirt, yanking him forward roughly to hold against the cell's bars. "You're lying! There's something you're not telling me!" he screamed as he shook the other. He had learned to read the other's facial expressions through years of observation and could tell when the Irken was lying to him.

Zim jerked out of Dib's grip. "IT'S NO CONCERN TO YOU! NOW LAY DOWN!" he turned for the door. "I'll go get you food." he said.

"No!" Dib this time reached out both hands to grab hold of Zim's uniform top from behind, pulling him back against the cell door and holding him there as tightly as possible. "Let me out of here, you bastard! Let me out!" he pushed Zim forward just to pull him back roughly. "And undo everything you've done to me!" he exclaimed.

"I CAN'T! If I did that, the smeets would die! They're already 4 months old! They can move! They are ALIVE!"

"Then why? Why did you do this to me in the first place if you knew it wasn't reversible? Why me? Why couldn't you have chosen somebody else to do this with, you sick pervert?"

Zim pulled away again. "Go lay down, Dib." he said.

"Answer my question first! Tell me why you're doing this to me! Tell me!" Dib shook the cell door again, desperately fighting against it to get out, kicking and throwing himself against it again.

"DIB, STOP! You're going to hurt yourself OR the smeets!"

"Then let me out! I want out of here!" Dib panted out heavily, already growing tired once again, especially now that the smeets were moving around inside him.

"Dib, if you don't calm down, you could cause complications! I'll tell you later! Just lay DOWN!"

"No! Let me out! Please!" Dib's body finally gave in and he sank to his knees on the floor. "Please...Just let me out..." he struggled weakly against the door still, slamming his balled up hand against the bars until it was beginning to bruise and swell. "...I want to go home..." he cried, trying to catch his breath all the while.

Zim sighed heavily. "In five months, I'll leave Earth for good...And you can go home and enjoy the rest of your life." he said.

Dib's eyes snapped wide open at that information. "What?" he wasn't sure if he was hearing the other correctly as he dropped his wide-eyed gaze back down to the ground."But why...?" he asked in a suddenly very quiet voice, all the fight that had been in him less than a minute ago seeming to flee his body and leave him sitting there lifelessly. All he had wanted was to go home. Not for Zim to leave...Or...Had he even ever considered what he would do were Zim to decide to one day leave Earth? Despite what he thought, the idea of the Irken leaving didn't leave him with a particularly victorious feeling.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 74. =3 Until next time~


	74. Chapter 75

ZADR Orange Chapter 75

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Refusing to answer Dib's question, Zim merely shook his head. "You win, Dib. You should be happy." he said, turning to head upstairs and get Dib something to eat.

Rather than feeling happy, however, Dib felt rather sick to his stomach as all he could do was sit there in a daze. This wasn't right. It didn't feel anything like a real win for him. It wasn't like he had the upper hand at the moment or was the one chasing Zim away from Earth. On the contrary, he was the one who was locked up here. But even so, he felt as though he were being abandoned on a completely alien planet himself.

Zim returned moments later, a large plate of food in hand. "Here, you'll need to eat..." he said.

A dazed look on his face, Dib merely sat there with his knees up to his chest. "I'm not hungry..." he said in an eerily low voice. He didn't want to eat. He didn't want to sleep, talk, or even look at Zim when he came back into the room. For some odd reason, besides making him feel sick, the other's words had angered him for the most part.

"You're still going to eat, Dib. You need to."

Dib's antennae could only fall back even more at that. "I said I'm not hungry." he spoke in an even more stern voice as a sort of warning not to push the subject or him too much farther. He was on the verge of another breakdown at this point as he glared down at the ground, refusing to look back up at Zim.

Setting the food on the floor of the cage, Zim sighed. "I'm only doing this for you..." he said.

Dib scowled even more at the floor. "I don't want you doing me any favors! The only reason I'm even in this situation to begin with is because of you!" he growled in a low voice.

"Then you'll be glad when I'm gone, won't you?"

Dib felt his body beginning to shake with anger. "Just get out of here already! Leave me alone! I don't feel like talking to you right now!" he wanted to be alone.

Flinching, Zim retreated back to his spying spot.

Letting out a shaky sigh once he was alone again, Dib felt his body shaking as he began breaking down again, the tears coming and dripping down his face.

Burying his head in his arms, Zim then curled up on the floor, waiting for Dib to fall back to sleep. "I'm sorry..." he whispered, Dib's soft whimpering echoing throughout the quiet room.

QQQ

A few hours passed, Dib just crying to himself in the corner of his cell until finally he managed to drift back off, his eyes red and puffy from how long he had been crying.

Seeing Dib fall asleep, Zim slowly stood up from his spot and went to check on him, entering the cage and gently picking him up so he could carry him over to the bed. Then, sitting down with Dib's head in his lap, he began to pet the hybrid's head gently, rubbing his antennae a little and looking sad as he leaned down to kiss the top of his head.

Dib, meanwhile, remained fast asleep as Zim did all this to him. "Mmm...Zim..." he murmured in his sleep, shifting slightly against the Irken.

Pulling Dib closer, Zim smiled sadly. 'I thought this would change things...but I can't stop loving him...And it looks like he can't either...' he thought.

New tears slipping from his eyes as he slept on, Dib shuddered in his sleep, his dreams carrying him back to just a few days ago when he and Zim had still had a relationship.

Wrapping his arms around Dib, Zim sighed sadly. "I'm sorry...No matter what I do, I hurt you..." he said in a soft voice to the other, curling up around him protectively.

QQQ

Sleeping on for several more hours, Dib jolted back awake suddenly in the bed Zim had set up for him, panting uneasily as it took him a moment to remember where he was and why.

An arm draped over him to help keep him warm, Zim had foolishly allowed himself to fall asleep next to Dib.

Sitting bolt upright at realizing Zim was fast asleep next to him, Dib just about let out a startled noise but stopped himself, realizing this could be his one and only chance to escape. Looking over at the door to the cell and then Zim, he carefully shifted the other's arm off of him and searched his pockets for the key. Upon finding it, he didn't hesitate to make a run for the exit, locking the door behind himself and leaving the room to search for a way out. He would question why Zim was sleeping in the same bed with him later, but now was not the time.

Opening his eyes only after he realized his source of heat was no longer there, Zim jolted awake upon realizing that A) he was in Dib's cage, and B) DIB WAS GONE! Jumping out of the bed in a hurry, he then rushed to the door, which he found to be locked and his key to it gone. "Shit." he swore to the empty room.

QQQ

Meanwhile, as Dib was desperately running about the place searching for the elevator, he suddenly found himself stumbling upon a room harboring dozens of computer screens, each screen recording live time footage of each and every room in Zim's base.

He walked in slightly amazed. "Whoa..." he looked over each and every screen, his eyes widening when he saw one screen that showed the room he had been kept in and Zim currently standing at the cell door, using his spider legs to pick the lock. "Oh, crap!" he turned to make a run for the elevator but stopped himself when something else caught his eye. In a corner of the room to the left of him, there sat a box which had his name written on it in big, bold letters. "What the-?" he approached it to look through, finding it filled to the brim with disks of what he assumed were surveillance videos of himself, perhaps from the past when he had tried to sneak into Zim's base. But then, underneath it all, he also found a pile of books which all looked rather new to him, like they had just been packed up less than 24 hours ago. Picking up one of the books, he read the title: 'Your Pregnancy Week-By-Week'.

"Wh-What is all this?" he began looking through the rest, finding them all to be pregnancy books. Had Zim really planned all of this ahead of time? he asked himself, returning his attention to the surveillance disks and looking through them for the one with the most recent date on it. As much as he knew he should be getting out of there by now, he wanted to know what was going on. So, walking up to one of the computer monitors, he found a place to insert the disk and waited for it to load.

QQQ

Rushing out of the room to look for Dib once he had finished picking the lock, Zim sighed, yanking on his antennas. "Oh, what's the point? He probably left already." he said before stopping in his tracks upon hearing what sounded like his and Dib's voices coming from the surveillance room. "Or maybe not..." he walked towards the room and peeked inside.

Inside, Dib stood watching the screen with wide eyes as the video played out everything that had happened within the past day or two he had been there.

"Dib, you're painfully shy of everything about you...You won't even let me see you naked, and we live together, and you're pregnant..."

"W-Well, what reason do you have for wanting to see me naked in the first place? C-Can't you find some other way to get yourself off like most other people do?"

"I-I love you...I'm sorry...I just...guess I can't help myself...I want you to myself. ALL of you..."

Bits and pieces of this for some reason seeming familiar to him, Dib continued to just stand there, dumbstruck, as the video continued to play through the conversation.

Quietly walking into the room behind Dib, Zim sighed.

Dib had begun shaking a bit in his spot as he watched the screen with trembling fingers covering his mouth and new tears threatening to overflow down his face. "What is this?" he asked nobody in particular, not realizing Zim was behind him as he sank down to his knees.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 75. =3 Until next time~


	75. Chapter 76

A/N: Alright. Before I get to updating the next chapter of ZO, I have both some good news and some bad. The good news is that I made it to DoomCON all in one piece. The bad news is that I only get free internet if down in the lobby. Sucks because I really wanted to do some updating while in the room at night. But whatever. I'll move my lazy ass down to the lobby just for you guys. Also hanging out with two of my friends, metros2soul and Digital Revolution, while here. So that's been pretty fun, even if we were tired from our travels. But whatever. ON TO THE UPDATAGE! And, of course, as I've said before, if any of you happen to be at DoomCON this weekend, do please feel free to come and find us while there. =3 I'll be wearing a black cat hat with a skull on it so it shouldn't be too hard for anybody to find me. And if you're not going to DoomCON...eh...well...I guess I'll just say please enjoy the updatage. XD If any of you would be interested in keeping up with my DoomCON updates though, you can do so at my deviantart account: Pat-The-Kitsune. Well, hope you all enjoy the next few chapters. =3

ZADR Orange Chapter 76

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Turning off the video, Zim shook his head. "I'm sorry..." he apologized.

Hearing Zim behind him, Dib jumped and turned on his knees to stare up at Zim with wide eyes. "Wh-What the hell was that, Zim?" he pointed at the screen. "Tell me what's going on!" he demanded, tears streaming down his cheeks now. Having to relive that moment in time, even if not remembering it the first time, was just as painful as when it first happened.

Slumping to the floor, Zim carefully wrapped his arms around Dib. "I-I didn't want you to hurt...I'm sorry..." he apologized again.

Bringing his hands up to wipe at his eyes, Dib could only break down even more. "Then why have you been lying to me this entire time?" he curled in on himself more, burying his face in the Irken's uniform top. "It hurts when you lie to me!" he cried, so horribly confused now as his memory was only partially there now, the rest of it still waiting to be jogged and a good portion of it completely missing for the time being.

"I-I wanted you to be happy...I thought if you didn't remember anything, you could be...I wiped your father's memory s-so you could go home..."

Lifting his head from his hands, Dib looked up at Zim. "What...? Y-You wiped my memory? Don't you think I might have been happy before you did that? A-And I don't even know whether I want to know why you had to wipe my dad's memory for me to be happy!" his voice began to shake. "N-Not remembering anything at all is worse than remembering if there's nothing good to remember..." he said, his voice slightly strained.

"I-I wanted you to be happy..." Zim repeated helplessly. "You never wanted to see me again... I didn't mean anything to you anymore. But please... I-I hadn't finished talking..." he said, desperately searching for the right words to say.

"Finished talking about what? Because if you really loved me as much as you said you did in those videos, you wouldn't have wanted me to forget that!"

"Unless it hurt you..." Zim whined, taking hold of his antennas again and yanking hard on them, wincing each time.

"So you thought it would hurt me less if I thought you hated me? When you're the only one who knows I'm not insane...? And the one thing that is still keeping me going...? And the closest thing to a friend I ever had...? You thought that leaving me all alone on Earth with absolutely no explanation would hurt me less than at least knowing somebody in my life actually cared for me? Even if only at one time?"

"I-I thought you... You always acted like you wanted me gone...before, that is... Th-Then I did this to you... I'm only here because you can't do it alone."

"But I never wanted you to leave Earth! You've been my life for the past 5 years, Zim, and nothing can change that! If you left, my life would be over, and I don't know what I would do with myself!"

"I-I thought...I didn't know you had felt like that...the whole time?" Zim asked, wrapping his arms tighter around Dib and nuzzling into his back. "I-I'm sorry...I thought you wanted me gone..." he said in a low whisper.

"Yes, the whole time! Why else do you think I let you get away so many times? I could have captured you several times throughout the years if I had wanted to! But I didn't! I didn't!... B-Because then everything would have ended if I had... A-And I never would have gotten the chance to ever see you again..."

Nuzzling into Dib more, Zim held him tighter, his antennae drooping low. "Why didn't you say something?" he asked.

"Because I thought you were homesick!" Dib exclaimed, his own antennae drooping. "I thought you hated this planet and showed no interest in staying around. I didn't want to keep you here forever if you ever chose to go home because I didn't want you to hate me any more than you already did..." he said in a broken voice.

"I DIDN'T hate you... I don't hate you... I-I just didn't want to get dissected..."

Dib could only flinch back at the other's words a bit. He had threatened to dissect the Irken so many times in the past; he had assumed the other must have hated him. "...I'm sorry... I-I thought you had hated me from the start... A-And even though I didn't want you to leave, I-I didn't want my planet being taken over either... So I threatened you, hoping you would take out most of your anger on me and not the planet..." he said, bowing his head, his antennae shuddering.

"...But... Oh, Dib..." Zim hugged him tightly. "I-I don't have a mission... I couldn't have taken over this planet even if I had wanted to... I was banished to Earth... My leaders thought I didn't know, but I did... I just pretended to have a mission to make myself feel like I had a purpose in life..." he said, not having admitted that to anyone else before.

"Why couldn't you have just told me then? Maybe things wouldn't have been so hard on us if I had known from the start...and we could have gone through all of this without all the hurt involved..."

Zim sighed. "You would have thought I was lying..." he said, looking away.

"And you would have thought I was lying if I had told you how I really felt this entire time!" Dib looked up, narrowing his eyes on the other a bit.

Zim looked away from him again. "Looks like we're both too stubborn..." he said, a small smile playing along his lips.

"I just don't want to lose you... I know that's selfish, but I don't want you to leave... I want you to be in my life every day for the rest of my life!"

Zim smiled down at him. "It's not selfish... so long as I can have you too..." he pulled Dib more into his lap.

"Well, I'm not the one trying to leave you..." Dib said, his antennae drooping as he slumped down a bit, a small shudder running through his body.

Zim ran a hand gently through Dib's hair. "I'll stay as long as you want me... I love you..." he pulled Dib's head back and kissed him gently.

A light pink blush taking over his face as he blinked the last of his tears out of his eyes, Dib's antennae perked before falling back at the kiss. "I-Is that a promise...?" he asked in a low voice.

Zim sighed. "I'm not sure if you will believe me... but I promise..." he kissed Dib once again, nuzzling him. "I want to be with you..." he said, rubbing Dib's cheeks with his fingers. "I-I'll give you your memory back... J-Just... Please don't hate me..." he said, afraid of how Dib might react once he remembered everything that had happened.

"Why would I hate you? I don't think anything you could ever do or say to me would make me hate you..." Dib said, his voice coming out in a quiet whisper now. "I love you too much..." he nuzzled Zim back.

Zim smiled. "I hope you still do when you remember..." he sighed and stood up, helping Dib up as well. "Come on... We'll go restore your memories..." he said, taking Dib by the hand to lead him towards another room.

Allowing Zim to help him up, Dib reached up to take Zim's hand. "Wh-What if I promise you I will? W-Will you believe me then?" he asked, not wanting Zim to think that way of him.

Zim pulled Dib close. "Yeah... I'll believe you..." he nodded.

"Then no more doubting me, okay?" Dib said, letting his eyes slip closed as he pressed himself against Zim tiredly.

Zim smiled. "If you want... we can do it in the morning... It is pretty late... You look tired." he said, not wanting to push Dib into doing it right away.

Dib could only yawn in response to that. "Would that be okay? Is there anything important I need to know from my memory?" he asked, already nodding off on Zim.

"I don't think you're missing anything that can't wait till tomorrow..." Zim kissed him again.

Nuzzling himself against Zim as though encouraging the other to carry him the rest of the way, Dib's antennae fell back to rest comfortably against his head. "Mmm... Okay..." he said, already for the most part asleep.

Hefting Dib up into his arms, Zim carried him to his bedroom, laying him down in the bed gently. "I really need to install a window down here..." he laughed a little before crawling into bed next to Dib and pulling the covers up over the two of them.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 76. =3 I'll get on with the reviews now despite how tired I am at the moment. Please excuse any less than coherent responses you may get back from me. My brain is pretty dead at the moment.

To Klara2012zimdib: Lol. XD No worries. They'll be back together soon enough. And I'm glad to hear you're still enjoying the story so much. Even if it did make you cry. Honestly enough, I like to try and pull at people's emotions as much as physically possible when writing. So it's nice to hear when I'm able to do that. XD Anyways, thanks again~ And here's your requested update. =3

To Kuro: Lol. XD Oh yes indeed. Glad to hear you enjoyed the massive updatage. I wanted to get as much in before DoomCON as possible. But as for when we'll get to the chapters that go past zogoodfics, I must admit, I have no idea how long it will take to get to those. I wanted to catch up by the time DoomCON came around, but unfortunately, I had a hard time getting myself to work more on this story. I appreciate the kind words all the same though. And I'm glad you're enjoying the fluff in this story. =3 Well, until next time.

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Oh yes. D8 Poor Zim and Dib are put through quite a lot in this story. But, of course, they'll come out on top eventually. =3 Anyways, thanks for continuing to read. I really appreciate the continued devotion to this story. ^^

To blood emocat (Kayla): Lol. XD If you want me to call you Kayla, then I'll continue to call you Kayla...or blood emocat...or whatever you feel like being called. Either way, I'm certain it will be obvious enough to you that I'm addressing you and your future comments. Glad to hear you're still enjoying the story so much. =3 And of course it's suspenseful. XD Wouldn't be as good of a story if it didn't have at least some suspense in it. And I like leaving you guys will a certain sense of uncertainty when reading this. Tis fun for me to see your guys' reactions. =3 Anyways, thanks once again for reading. And, as always, I'll look forward to hearing back from you more in the future. =3

To Invader Madd: Haha. XD Glad to hear you're enjoying the story so far. =3 Trust me, there are plenty more plot twists to come in this story. =3 Hopefully they'll all be plot twists you enjoy to some extent. =3 But until then, I do hope you continue to enjoy the read. ^^ Until next time~


	76. Chapter 77

ZADR Orange Chapter 77

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Turning over onto his stomach, Dib curled up in the bed. "I thought we were underground though..." he murmured into a pillow tiredly, too tired to even open his eyes at this point. He was more than content to just sleep the rest of the night away. When he felt a tiny bit of movement in his stomach however, he let out a small whine and shifted slightly.

Zim mumbled. "Yeah...But I'll manage..." he said, cuddling up close to Dib. "Get some sleep, Dib." he said, not realizing what discomfort the other was going through at the moment.

Dib just continued to shift about uncomfortably. "Mmm...Nyeh...Tell that to my stomach..." he said, peeking one eye slightly open before bringing down a finger to poke at his stomach. He was still getting used to all the sudden movement despite the fact that the smeets had been moving around inside him since practically the first time he had noticed it.

Petting it soothingly, Zim leaned down and kissed his belly. "They're just upset is all..." he said in a quiet voice.

"Upset? At what? They're the ones making my stomach upset..." Dib groaned, receiving a bit of a kick to the side for his complaining. He still didn't understand how it was that he was pregnant, but he just figured it would all make sense again once he got his memory back in the morning.

Zim kissed him gently once more. "Your feelings are probably affecting them..." he smiled sadly. "I'm sorry..." he apologized.

Shifting yet again to try and get into a more comfortable position facing Zim, Dib could only sigh out himself. "If my feelings were really affecting them then they'd be too tired to be kicking this much..." he said, finally getting comfortable curling around himself.

Zim pet him gently. "You're tired on the outside, Dib...But on the inside, you're feeling hurt...and confused..." he said, his petting slowing to a stop.

"Well, I'd feel better on the inside AND outside if they'd just stop kicking..." Dib muttered tiredly.

Zim smiled. "Maybe something soothing would calm them down..." he suggested.

"Hmmm?" Dib peeked one eye open. "Something...soothing...? Like what?" he asked.

Zim shrugged. "I don't know...What do you find soothing?" he asked.

"W-Well, a warm bath or shower usually does the trick, but that would involve getting out of bed, something I wouldn't be all too thrilled about having to do right now..." Dib said, blinking his eyes closed lazily. "A warm drink might help, but that would still involve getting out of bed to get one..." he said, not too thrilled with that idea either.

"Not necessarily." Zim smirked, turning towards the ceiling. "Computer!" he yelled.

The computer groaned. "WHAT?" it responded back in a rather irritated fashion.

"Dib needs a warm drink! What would you like?" Zim asked Dib, smiling.

Dib's eyes snapped open at the sudden command Zim was giving his computer. "I-I umm..." he blushed a bit, flustered now. "I-It's okay...I'm fine..." he said, not wanting to be all that much of a bother.

"No, no. It's fine. Anything you want. Just tell me."

"There better be SOMETHING! I was trying SLEEP!"

"Oh, cram it, you!"

Feeling uncomfortable because of all the sudden yelling, Dib could only tense up even more. "Umm...Uh...I-I guess...Umm..." he began to stutter, jolting again and letting out a startled yelp at another kick to his side. The smeets were shifting about again as though as uncomfortable with the situation as he was.

Gasping, Zim stroked Dib's belly with concern. "How about some milk?" he offered.

Still fairly flustered, Dib just nodded his head in agreement. "Okay..." he agreed, his blush deepening as Zim began running his hands over the surface of his stomach.

"Warm milk for my Dib-love." Zim addressed the computer again.

"Whatever." the computer grumbled, a ding sounding before a glass of warm milk was lowered down to them.

Taking it, Zim offered it to Dib. "How's this?" he asked.

Glancing back and forth between the glass of milk and Zim, Dib hesitantly took it from the other. "I...Umm...Thank you...This is fine..." he said before then just staring down at the milk inside the cup, blushing at the small nickname Zim had come up with for him.

Having forgotten how much Dib still didn't remember, Zim tilted his head to the side, confused. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Dib jumped a bit at the other's question. "Uh...Nothing!" he said before returning his attention back to the glass of milk, blowing on it to cool it off a bit first before taking a sip from it. Sighing in a bit of relief as the warm liquid settled in his stomach, he then nuzzled himself back into the covers and took another drink from the cup.

Stroking Dib's hair once more, Zim smiled and fiddled with his antennae a little.

Body tensing at the sensation, Dib's eyes grew wide before relaxing and falling half lidded as he let out a low sounding purr, not exactly used to the feel of somebody touching his antennae anymore. "Mmmmm..." he let his eyes slip back closed to sleep, the smeets' own responses seeming to grow lethargic.

Catching the glass of milk before it could tip over and spill onto the bed, Zim smiled, setting it on the night stand and snuggling close to Dib. He then pulled the covers up over them tightly. "Good night." he whispered so as not to wake Dib up.

Finally asleep, Dib slept soundly for the rest of the night, the smeets seeming to have fallen asleep as well inside of him, no longer shifting about and keeping him or Zim up.

Wanting to be sure he could snap to if Dib woke up suddenly and needed something from him, Zim meanwhile dozed lightly next to him. He was just glad that he finally had his hybrid back.

To say the very least, the rest of the night remained fairly peaceful, Dib finally getting the rest he needed. Upon waking up the next morning however, he sniffled wetly. "Ugh..." he sounded out groggily.

Zim's eyes snapped open at Dib's movements. He was tired but didn't care that he hadn't really allowed himself to sleep. So long as everything was fine with Dib, it was worth it. "Good morning..." he said when he saw that Dib's eyes were open.

"Mmm..." Dib's antennae fell back in an almost irritated way. Despite the good sleep, he wasn't feeling too hot that morning as he sat up slowly, eyelids drooping still. "Bleh..." he stuck out his tongue a moment before pulling it back in. "I feel like I can't breathe..." he sniffled again, feeling just plain stuffed up and icky as he flopped back down onto his back.

Zim ran a hand through his hair. "Anything I can do?" he asked.

"No, no...I'm fine..." Dib said in a stuffy voice before sitting himself up slowly to get out of bed. "Can you just restore my memories now?" he asked, hoping that perhaps remembering something would make it easier for him to deal with it.

Zim sighed. "Okay...But you probably won't like me anymore..." he said, taking Dib's hand and leading him to the super computer mainframe of his base.

Before Zim could take him too much farther, however, Dib pulled the Irken close to him and placed a small kiss on the other's lips. "You promised not to leave me...and I promised to still love you after all of this is over with..." he reminded the other.

Zim's eyes widened at those words. "Y-You remembered that?" he asked in some shock.

"Hmm?" Dib blinked at Zim slightly confused. "Of course. We promised each other last night. Don't YOU remember? You said you'd stay as long as I wanted you to. And I promised to love you even after you gave me back my memories." he said, recalling their conversation last night.

"Oh...Right." Zim looked away. "We've said that before though..." he said, looking doubtful now.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 77. =3 Until next time~


	77. Chapter 78

ZADR Orange Chapter 78

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

His eyes growing wide, Dib looked away also. "O-Oh..." his antennae drooped a bit. "D-Do you think that I won't keep my promise...?" he asked, now contemplating whether things really would be better off if they just decided to pick things up from there without restoring his memories. He wanted to know what had happened over the past few months but was beginning to fear what horrible thing it was that happened to make Zim wipe his memory in the first place.

"N-No, it's not that! I-It's just...You will think that I won't...You will KNOW that I haven't...I'm sorry...I tried...I-I thought you just wanted some time alone..."

"Well, did you tell me before you wiped my memory that you thought I had just wanted some time alone? Because sometimes...I overreact...and just need a reason for why somebody did or didn't do a certain thing..." Dib said, keeping his eyes averted to the side.

"Yes...But you had the right..." Zim nuzzled him. "I'm a jerk..." he said, feeling as though everything that had happened had been his fault.

"Well...I may not remember everything that happened right before you wiped my memory, b-but if I thought you were a jerk before then, then I was an idiot...B-Because you're really not a jerk..." Dib said, nuzzling Zim back and sniffling wetly.

Zim smiled. "Thanks...but you won't think that once you remember..." he said, leading Dib towards the computer and holding him close.

Pulling away from Zim, Dib's antennae could only droop even more. "Then maybe it really would be better that I not remember any of this." he said, sending Zim an all too serious look. "I-If you think things between us would be better if I don't remember what happened these past couple of months, then maybe we should just forget about restoring my memories and move on with our lives from here..." he said, not wanting to bring about anymore unnecessary drama.

Zim eyed Dib. "You don't really mean that..." he said, almost warily.

Dib didn't bring his gaze up to meet Zim's. "I do if you really don't want me to remember...But I'll only agree to this on two conditions. First, you have to answer any questions I have about what happened these past few months honestly. And second...You have to let me watch those tapes you have down in that surveillance room..." he said before finally bringing his gaze up to meet Zim's.

Zim smiled sadly. "Well...There are a few things I'd like you to remember...like how brave you were on the Massive...how you saved my life..." he said, blushing lightly.

"I saved your life?" Dib blinked up at Zim, confused now. He quickly shook the thought right out of his mind for the time being though. "Well, the choice is still yours...I won't object either way..." he said, nodding his head to assure himself he would be okay with either outcome.

Zim smiled sadly again. "Come on. I... want you to remember, Dib. Not because of the bad...but because of the good." he kissed him. "Just don't hate me...please?" he begged as though Dib had any control over how he would react when this was all said and done.

Dib sighed out gently against Zim's skin as the other continued to lead him in the direction of the computer. "A promise is a promise...I won't let this come in between the both of us..." he said, nuzzling into the Irken's neck.

"Thank you..." Zim kissed him as they entered the room. "Have a seat, Dib. I'll get the program..." he said, gesturing towards a reclining chair in the room.

Looking around the room, Dib took a seat in what looked to be a large examination chair. He reclined in it a bit and his eyes looked about the room as he waited. All the creepy looking alien equipment surrounding him fascinated him yet made him nervous at the same time. "U-Umm...Th-This won't hurt, will it?" he asked in a somewhat shaky voice, his antennae falling back a bit. He couldn't recall whether it had hurt having his memory wiped, but he knew it had at least knocked him out.

"No...It will knock you out...But I will catch you before you hit the floor." Zim said, pulling a device down from above them.

A bit nervous, Dib fidgeted in his seat. "A-Alright...B-But don't leave me afterwards, okay? Promise me you'll stay next to me until I wake up." he said, looking back up at Zim and trying not to show how nervous he was about this.

Zim kissed him. "I promise..." he said before pulling back and placing the device in front of Dib's face. "Now whatever happens, just keep staring directly ahead." he instructed.

Nodding his head, Dib shifted his gaze to straight in front of himself. "Alright. I'm ready..." he said, all the while squeezing one of Zim's hands in his own, forcing himself not to look off to the side until it was done and over with.

Squeezing Dib's hand back lightly, Zim pressed a button on the machine, a bright light flashing in front of the hybrid's face followed by another then another, continuing until it had flashed at least five times.

After the fifth and final flash, all Dib could do for several long moments was blink before finally blacking out in the chair he was in, the last thought on his mind being the promise he had made to Zim. Everything else becoming lost to him, his grip loosened on Zim's hand.

Pulling the machine back and scooping Dib up gently, Zim then carried him back to the bedroom and laid him down carefully on the bed and pulled the covers up around him. Curling up next to him, Zim then kissed the hybrid softly. "I love you..." he whispered.

Remaining out cold for the next several hours, Dib didn't begin to come back around until he felt movement next to him in the bed. "Mmm...Huh...?" he murmured, blinking his eyes open slowly. "Where am I? Zim?" he searched blindly for the Irken, his vision still trying to focus.

Zim stroked Dib's belly gently. "Good morning..." he spoke softly once Dib had begun to stir.

"Hmm?" Dib continued to blink his eyes a few moments longer before shifting his gaze up to look at Zim. He smiled. "The smeets are moving..." he said, bringing down one of his own hands to feel his side where one of them was shifting inside of him though not in an uncomfortable way. If anything, it was just a flutter of movement at the moment.

Looking back down to his belly, Zim smiled. "Yeah..." he nodded his head.

"And...You kept your promise..." Dib said, closing his eyes to nuzzle into Zim, stretching out his legs a bit as he yawned.

Wrapping his arms around Dib loosely, Zim kissed his belly. "Yeah..." he said again.

Dib could only smile even more at that. "Good..." he purred out tiredly, his mind still in a bit of a fog as he cuddled up to Zim's chest, perfectly content to just lie there all day. Before he could get too comfortable, however, his eyes snapped wide open again as he jolted up in his spot. "Wait a minute! I-I was with Jack and Rose right before you wiped my memory! H-How did I get here?" he sent Zim a fairly confused look, slightly worried about what had happened between them after Zim had knocked him out.

His mouth dropping open, Zim's own eyes widened. "Oh no..." he pulled back, tugging at his antennas. "I-I think I hurt Jack..." he said, having been in such a hurry to leave at the time that he hadn't thought about them at all since then.

"WHAT? W-Well, we have to go over there and make sure they're both okay!" Dib exclaimed, pushing himself up out of the bed. "They must be worried sick! A-And Rose is pregnant too! Come on!" he grabbed Zim by the wrist to lead him towards the elevator but felt himself falling back half a second later when he got a sudden head rush from standing up too quickly.

Zim caught Dib as he started to fall. "Dib, there is no use rushing over there if you hurt yourself while doing so." he said, holding him close and nuzzling his head. "Let your body catch up, okay?" he said, helping Dib to take a seat again.

"But...But...I don't want them to worry about me...and I don't want them to hate you..." Dib's voice dropped down to just barely a whisper as he said that last part.

Zim kissed Dib gently. "I don't care if they hate me...They have the right to...So do you...But...Please don't..." he said, holding Dib close and sighing. "We'll go after you've gotten something to eat, okay?" he promised.

Wanting to head over there right then, Dib continued to struggle a bit but gave in after a moment or two, his antennae drooping as he sighed out heavily. He wanted to go right then but knew Zim wouldn't let him leave until he had eaten a good meal. "...Okay..." he finally agreed, slumping against Zim somewhat.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 78. =3 Until next time~


	78. Chapter 79

ZADR Orange Chapter 79

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Scooping Dib up bridal style, Zim smiled and carried him upstairs. "Anything specific you want?" he asked.

Antennae still drooping, Dib could only shrug loosely. "Sugar..." he spoke, feeling as though he hadn't had anything sweet to eat in days. He just felt like sprinkling sugar over everything edible in the fridge.

Zim smiled and nuzzled him. "Okay, anything UNDER that sugar?" he asked with a laugh.

"Whatever you have left over in the fridge, I guess...I don't really care." Dib said as he let his eyelids slip closed to rest against Zim tiredly.

As they went up in the elevator to get food, Zim nuzzled him gently. "I'd say we have a lot of leftovers...That is, if Gir hasn't done anything with them yet..." he laughed.

Opening his eyes, Dib looked back up at Zim. "I'll eat whatever you have...These smeets aren't exactly too picky at the moment. They're mostly just making me hungry for ANYTHING really..." he said.

Zim smiled. "Okay. How about that left over Chinese take-out?"

"That's fine. Just don't forget the sugar."

"Yes, lots of sugar." Zim nodded grinning wide.

His stomach growling at him now, Dib smiled back.

"The stomach has spoken!" Zim exclaimed as the elevator dinged and they were let out at the kitchen. Setting Dib down in a chair, Zim then went to the fridge to retrieve some food for him.

"I think that's the smeets talking more than just my stomach..." Dib said, resting his head in his arms at the table as he waited for Zim to get the food for them.

Setting some food in front of Dib along with the container of sugar, Zim giggled and chirped cheerfully. "Eat up."

Happily taking the container of sugar, Dib poured a fairly large portion of it onto his food before digging into it hungrily, this time not as worried about getting sick later in the day or week even.

Watching as Dib ate like he had been starved for weeks, Zim laughed. "Slow down a little, Dib. It's not going to walk away." he said, pulling more food out of the fridge and setting it in front of Dib. He knew Dib really hadn't eaten as much as he should have been.

Blushing, Dib stopped to swallow down what was in his mouth. "S-Sorry...I-I guess I haven't been eating as well as I should have been these past few days..." he said before continuing at a slower pace. Despite being only fast food, he felt like he was in heaven at the moment as he went in for seconds.

Zim smiled. "Well, we have a lot here. It's almost ALL fast food...But that's good for Irkens." he said, setting out a few more containers before standing behind Dib and rubbing his back gently.

Turning to look back at the other, Dib stopped eating when he felt Zim rubbing his back. "Aren't you going to eat any?" he asked, not wanting to eat alone.

Zim shook his head. "I'm not hungry. Just make sure YOU eat." he said.

Antennae drooping, Dib was about to protest the other's not eating but stopped himself, deciding he didn't want to get into another argument with the Irken right after they had fixed up things between each other in their relationship. So instead, he just silently returned to eating slowly, making sure to eat his fill to make up for the past few days of not eating.

Glad Dib didn't try to argue with him about eating, Zim smiled. He really didn't think he could eat at the moment anyway. His stomach was in knots, wondering what would happen when they went over to Jack and Rose's after what he did.

Feeling the hands on his shoulders shaking a bit, Dib stopped eating and looked back at the tense Irken. Then, reaching one of his own hands up to Zim's, he gave it a small reassuring squeeze.

Having not realized he had been staring at nothing, Zim's eyes snapped down to Dib. "Sorry..." he kissed the top of Dib's head and returned to rubbing his back.

Dib, however, continued to send Zim a slightly concerned look. "Are you alright, Zim?" he asked despite already knowing what the other was probably nervous about. He only hoped what the Irken had done to Jack wasn't as bad as what he thought it might be.

Zim shook his head slowly. "I don't know..." he admitted in a quiet whisper.

Reaching up his other hand to pull Zim's arm down a bit, Dib nuzzle a cheek to it softly. "They're not like other people, Zim...They can see the both of us for who we really are...They understand us...I'm sure once we explain everything to them, they'll forgive us for putting them through all this..." he said in a soft voice to the Irken.

Hugging Dib loosely, Zim sighed. "I hope you're right..." he said.

Sighing also, Dib closed his eyes. "I know I'm right...Jack and Rose...I know they wouldn't hold a grudge...They're too nice to ever do something like that...A-And this is the way they wanted things between us to be, right?" he said, rubbing his antennae gently against the other's face.

Eyes widening, Zim snapped for the antennae, catching it in his mouth and sucking on it gently. "Mmmhmm..." he sounded out.

Not expecting the sudden sensation of Zim's tongue sliding up and down his antennae, Dib jolted himself. Then, shuddering, he slumped down in his seat a bit, his eyelids drooping as his eyes became glazed over.

Eyes closing as he nibbled and sucked on Dib's antennae, Zim purred, taking the other in his hand and rubbing it gently.

Gasping sharply, Dib bit down on his bottom lip to suppress a tiny groan as his antennae twitched slightly against Zim's ministrations. "Mmm...Zim..." he purred out gently, letting his eyelids slip all the way closed as he curled up in his chair a bit as though to sleep.

Unable to help himself, Zim started digging the fingers of his other hand into Dib's hair, brushing it back and forth, his eyes completely closed now.

Rocking back and forth slightly, Dib let the feeling overtake him, finding comfort in the gentle strokes.

In too deeply now to notice when he started moving down from Dib's head, Zim continued his ministrations.

Feeling Zim's hand slipping down from his hair to his neck area, applying pressure to his stiff muscles there and making them go lax, Dib opened his eyes.

"Mmmm...Diiib~" Zim tilted Dib's head back and went for his lips.

Meeting Zim's lips with his own quivering lips, Dib pressed into them and allowed the Irken to part them for entrance into his mouth.

Kissing Dib deeply, Zim moaned a little, moving his hands down to the hybrid's sides.

Reaching a hand up to caress Zim's cheek as the Irken's long, slender fingers dragged themselves down his sides, massaging them lightly in small circular motions, Dib kissed back just as deeply if not a bit hesitantly.

Running his fingers over Dib's belly, Zim rubbed it gently a few times before returning to his sides.

Giggling a bit into the kiss at the feeling of Zim's fingers running themselves over his stomach, Dib could only smile before breaking the kiss long enough to murmur something into the other's antennae. "That tickles..." he giggled again, squirming in his seat a bit.

Coming back to his senses from the sweet romance, Zim smiled. "Oh, does it now?" he ran his fingers over Dib's belly in the same way as before, making his hybrid squirm.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 79. =3 Until next time~


	79. Chapter 80

ZADR Orange Chapter 80

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Having to bring his hands up to his mouth to keep from laughing out loud at the tickling sensation, Dib then brought his hands back down to try and push Zim and his tickling fingers away from his stomach and sides. "H-Hey! Quit it!" he forced out between giggles, trying to curl in on himself so Zim couldn't reach his most ticklish spots. He found the Irken to be relentless, however, as he helplessly tried to pull away with a small whine.

Enjoying himself too much to stop, Zim then attacked Dib, tickling him with vigor, ginning wide and starting to laugh himself.

Upon realizing Zim wasn't going to be letting up on him anytime soon, Dib then began to kick his legs out a bit in a desperate attempt to pull himself out from underneath the Irken. "Okay, Zim! You made your point! You can stop now!" he tried again to convince the Irken to stop so he could breathe again and catch his breath.

"NEVER! BUWHAHAH!" Zim cackled, moving himself in front of Dib so he could pin him into his chair.

Squeezing his legs together tightly, Dib found himself pulling his knees up. "N-No, seriously, Zim! Y-You're going to make me pee my pants if you don't stop!" he squirmed this way and that, just wanting the other to stop now.

Thinking Dib was kidding, Zim merely laughed some more and continued, pinning him down tighter.

"O-Ow! Zim! I mean it! I really have to pee now, and if you don't let me up to go, it might get all over you!" Dib squeezed his legs tighter together, struggling against the other to pull away, his giggles having turned to coughs now as he panted desperately for air.

Rolling his eyes, Zim laughed again. "Sure, Dib. Anything to end the torture, right?" he giggled, continuing with his tickling.

Just trying to keep himself from wetting his pants right then and there as Zim wouldn't stop, Dib let out a small whimper when the other wouldn't believe him. "ZIM! I'm serious! My bladder's about to burst!" he exclaimed, by this point no longer having fun. One of the smeets had shifted so it was resting right on his bladder, something he hadn't had to face until they begun moving around inside of him.

Slowly coming to a stop at his tickling torment, Zim looked at Dib confused, but it was too late for poor Dib as he couldn't hold it in anymore and wet himself right there in the chair.

Face flaring up a bright red, eyes wet with tears, and antennae drooping, Dib didn't even wait around for Zim's response as he just made a mad dash for the bathroom, locking himself inside, so horribly embarrassed now. He couldn't believe that had just happened. The last time he had wet himself had been back when he was 7 years old, so this was beyond embarrassing for him.

Feeling horrible now for not believing Dib when he had told him to stop the first time, Zim blushed before rushing to the bathroom door after Dib and knocking on it sheepishly. "Dib? A-Are you okay?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

Crying into his arms, Dib merely curled in on himself, not wanting to answer that, unsure whether he'd even be able to bring himself to face Zim ever again after that. There were absolutely no words that could be used to describe his embarrassment over it as he sat curled up in one of the corners of the bathroom. He wanted to die as he tugged down on his antennae in a desperate attempt to block out what he could of any outside noise.

"Dib...Please talk to me...It's okay. I-It was my fault. I should have listened to you...I-I just thought we were having fun...I'm sorry...Please come out...I'll clean you up. Pretend it didn't happen."

Trying to block the other's words out, Dib only continued to pull down even tighter on his antennae however. Nothing the other could do or say would make this moment any better or less embarrassing for him.

"Dib, please..." Zim tried to open the door but it was locked.

Sobbing uncontrollably now as he didn't want to see Zim or Zim to see him, Dib returned to hiding his face away in his arms, antennae still pressed tightly to the sides of his head. If anything, he just wanted to be left alone.

Not wanting to give up, Zim tried the door again. "Just let me in. It's okay. Nothing to be ashamed of. You can't help that you're pregnant..." he tried to coax the flustered hybrid out.

Wiping his eyes as the tears came in a flood now, Dib just continued to ignore Zim's words. He knew Zim was trying to get in, but he had no intentions of letting the other come in anytime soon. Unfortunately for him, that's when Zim's computer decided to speak up, all too amused by this current situation and finding this to be the perfect timing to get his revenge on Dib for making him work so hard lately.

"You know, I COULD always unlock the door for you, Master." the computer's voice came out far too amused.

"...I know...I-I just hoped he would let me in himself..." Zim sighed heavily before looking up sadly. "Can you let me in?" he asked the computer now.

Had it a mouth, the computer would have grinned. "Sure." it said, a clicking noise sounding before the door opened.

"Thank you..." Zim thanked the computer before walking into the bathroom slowly. "Dib?" he asked, looking around the room for the hybrid.

Having not heard the conversation taking place between Zim and his computer or the click of the door being unlocked, Dib jolted a bit at the sound of the other's voice in the room calling his name. He tensed up, realizing Zim had somehow gotten into the room and was approaching him. Instantly trying to scoot back into a corner of the room, Dib could only stare up at Zim with wide, tearful eyes, a bright red blush spread evenly across his face. Antennae pressed as far back against his head as physically possible, he shivered in his spot as he brought his hands up to hide his face.

Walking towards Dib and kneeling beside him, Zim smiled sadly before brushing his hair back gently and stroking his antennas a little. "It's okay, Dib..." he said in a soft voice.

Smacking Zim's hand away from him out of instinct more than anything else, Dib squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "No, it's not!" he exclaimed, still fairly upset over what had happened. Before he even knew it, he was crying again.

Wrapping his arms around Dib loosely, Zim sighed. "Yes, it is..." he kissed the top of his head. "Bad things happen, Dib, but sometimes you just can't help it...It's okay." he repeated a second time.

Not at all in the mood to be touched right then, Dib could only struggle weakly in response to that. "No, it isn't! Nothing is okay right now, and it will never be okay again!" he said, believing that so strongly in that moment that he wished somebody would just strike him down right then.

Zim merely nuzzled Dib however. "Yes, it will be, Dib...You're just upset..." he said, kissing him again before prying his arms away from his chest to start sliding his shirt off.

His blush flaring back up to a bright red, Dib squeezed his eyes tightly shut when he felt Zim removing his shirt. As much as he just wanted to be left alone, he wasn't so sure he had the fight left in him to resist Zim any longer as he was forced to deal with the overwhelming embarrassment that had taken hold of him.

Trying to make this as painless as possible for Dib, Zim sighed. He had to get his clothes off first. So pulling the shirt off the rest of the way, he then forced Dib's legs away from his chest as well to take his pants off.

As could be expected, Dib instantly recoiled, pulling back his legs once Zim had gotten his pants off and curling in on himself, his face returning to his arms as he exhaled shakily, small whimpers escaping him.

Tossing Dib's clothes into a basket to be cleaned, Zim sighed again and turned on the gel to fill up the tub.

Praying that he would wake up and this would all turn out to be just a bad dream, if anything, Dib could only shiver where he sat as he waited.

Needing a bath himself, Zim then jerked his clothes off as well before turning off the faucet and going back to Dib. "Come on, Dib. Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" he said, bending down to pick him up.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 80. =3 Until next time~


	80. Chapter 81

A/N: Blargh. Okay, so I took a bit longer than I meant to getting back to this story. Sorry about that, you guys. I know some of you have been waiting for me to update and respond to your reviews, but I'm afraid an update is all you guys are going to get this time around. I had some reponses to reviews all typed out for the next time I posted, but unfortunately, those were typed up on my OTHER laptop, which is off being fixed at the moment. So yeah. Not gonna respond to reviews again this week. Just know that I really do appreciate you guys keeping up with this story and reviewing. And I'll do what I can to get the chapters coming out even faster now that I'm back from DoomCon.

Speaking of DoomCon, allow me quickly cover some of the highlights of our trip before posting this next set of chapters.=3 For those of you who DIDN'T read my A/N on the recently updated "Dib Is Sick," I'll just have you know that the trip was absolutely amazing. We couldn't have asked for a better time in L.A. Because not only did we have incredibly good luck throughout the majority of the convention, but we also got invited to hang out with Wally Wingert AFTER the convention was over, which was just spectacular in itself. Wally Wingert, for those of you who don't know, is the voice actor of Tallest Red, and let me just say, he's just plain awesome. His house is amazing, and he really does care a lot for his fans. ;3; I was just blown away by everything he invited us to do with him though, as were my two friends, Metro and DAF. For details about the things he invited us to do with him, please feel free to visit the A/N of Chapter 31 of "Dib Is Sick." I go into more detail there of what we got to do with him. But seeing as how I'm certain you're all dying to read the next set of chapters by now, I'll go ahead and get to posting them already so you don't have to wait any longer.

As always, your feedback is very much appreciated. And I just hope you guys enjoy the continuation of ZADR Orange. =3

ZADR Orange Chapter 81

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Just allowing Zim to scoop him up and carry him over to the tub for a bath, Dib didn't even respond or look up, his dazed gaze focused on the ground beneath them. He couldn't look back up at Zim, even if he wanted to. It was almost as though he had completely shut down.

Worried about Dib but thinking it would be best to get the both of them cleaned up first, Zim stepped into the warm goo and sat down with Dib in his lap.

His antennae shivering before falling back to rest comfortably against his head again, Dib didn't respond at all save for a small shudder as they entered the gel. He wasn't exactly used to the gel baths yet, the semi-liquid substance still somewhat cold to him despite technically being a 'warm' gel bath.

Sighing heavily, Zim pet Dib gently. "I'm so sorry, Dib...This is my fault...Again...EVERYTHING is my fault...M-Maybe...you shouldn't have remembered...You could have been happier without me..." he said, looking away.

"Stop it!" Dib snapped the moment Zim said that. "J-Just stop it...Please..." he closed his eyes, the tears coming again. "You make things so much worse when you say things like that..." his voice came out strained. "This probably would have happened whether I remembered everything that happened or not..." he brought up both his hands to wipe at his eyes.

Zim's antennae drooped. "I'm sorry..." he apologized again, kissing Dib gently and rubbing his back.

His body quivering as he moved in to hide his face in Zim's chest, Dib sniffled wetly, letting out small, shaking sobs.

Wrapping his arms tighter around Dib, Zim rubbed them up and down his arms and back."Shhh...Shh. It's okay, Dib. It's okay. Everything's going to be alright..." he tried to soothe the sobbing hybrid.

His hormones making it very hard for him to completely settle down emotionally, Dib calmed only slightly at the Irken's words.

Zim kissed him. "I love you...And I don't want to hurt you...I'm sorry you're in so much pain..." he said, continuing to kiss Dib's head gently.

After a moment or two, Dib finally lifted his head slightly from Zim's chest, sniffling wetly still. "...The smeets are moving again..." he said in a fairly broken voice, pressing the hand to where he could feel the movement inside of him. It was making it harder for him to catch his breath as he attempted to take in a few more calming breaths.

Rubbing his hand on Dib's belly to feel the movements, Zim smiled warmly. "They're very active, aren't they?" he said, nuzzling into Dib.

"They're less active than my bladder..." Dib said before returning his face back to Zim's chest and closing his eyes to let the rest of his tears continue falling.

"Oh, Dib. It's okay..." Zim kissed him, wrapping his tongue around his antennae.

Shuddering, Dib, rather than responding positively to Zim wrapping his tongue around his antennae, pulled them away, no longer in any sort of mood to have them touched.

Sighing, Zim looked away, his own antennae drooping. "Sorry..." he apologized in a quiet voice for the contact.

Crying until he finally couldn't take the headache it was causing him, Dib's own antennae drooped as he just sat there in Zim's lap. Then, lifting his head slightly, eyelids still drooping and eyes red, he sniffled wetly. "M-My head hurts..." he said in a somewhat tired voice, antennae shivering on and off.

Zim smiled sadly at him. "Would you like to go back to bed?" he asked.

Shifting his gaze off to the side, Dib didn't answer right away, his antennae drooping even more. He didn't really feel like doing anything at the moment, even sleeping. He knew that if he went back to bed, he would just end up crying even more, making his headache worse. But at the same time, he didn't want to go anywhere or do anything else. He just felt as though the life had been sucked out of him.

Waiting patiently for an answer, Zim didn't know what to do to make Dib feel better.

Bringing his gaze back up to Zim after several more minutes of silence, Dib finally nodded his head slowly, as though in response to the earlier question. "...O-Okay..." he agreed, not wanting to lay down but knowing whether he wanted to or not, that's where he would ultimately end up after something like that happening to him. He didn't even have the will to go out to Jack's and Rose's place with Zim any longer to let them know he was okay and apologize for everything they had put them through.

Zim rubbed Dib's cheek. "Okay, Dib...I'll carry you to bed." he said, draining the goo and picking Dib up to carry him on down to the bedroom.

Finding himself nuzzling his face back into Zim's chest, Dib tried to keep back the tears the best he could until they had reached the bedroom where he sank down into the covers the moment Zim set him down and hid his face away in one of the pillows.

"Dib..." Zim sighed, crawling up next to him, not wanting to leave his side despite not being tired. "Please feel better..." he said in a soft voice, running his hand up and down on the hybrid's back.

His body still shaking with emotion, Dib merely closed his eyes as his sobs continued on into the pillow.

About to scoot in to try and comfort Dib, Zim jolted however when the doorbell rang, drawing his attention up to the direction of the house level of his base.

"Master, there are two unidentifiable humans waiting at the front door."

Looking confused, Zim then glanced down at Dib. "Will you be okay while I go check the door?" he asked, a little nervous about leaving Dib, even if only for a second.

"...I don't care..." Dib said in a quiet whisper before turning over in the bed and curling up under the covers, antennae pressed to the back of his head.

Remaining silent as Zim seemed hesitant to leave at first but finally got up to check the door when the bell rang a second time, the computer finally decided to speak up just as Zim was heading for the elevator. "Ummm...Master? You do realize you're not wearing any clothes, right?" it informed him of his still naked state.

"Uhh...OF COURSE I DO!" Zim glared at the ceiling. "But gimme some anyway." he said, holding out his arms for some clothes.

Debating on whether or not to do it, the computer finally figured he'd rather not have to deal with naked Zim much longer. "Fine." he dropped clothes on top of Zim, who quickly put them on before heading to the door.

Opening the door a crack to look out, Zim very quickly tried to rid them of whoever it was at the door. "We don't want any." he said before really getting a look at who it was.

"Oh, no you don't, Zim!" came an all too familiar voice that could only belong to Jack. Jamming his foot in the doorway before Zim could close it, locking both him and Rose outside the house, Jack refused to let him close the door until after they were allowed to see Dib. After a night in the hospital after what had happened back at their house, he and Rose had agreed they needed to have a talk with Zim, whether he wanted to hear it or not. And they had no intentions of leaving until they had made sure Dib was okay, of course.

Realizing who it was at the door, Zim's eyes widened. "Jack! Rose! Y-You're okay!" he opened the door wide to let them come inside, surprising them a little as they hadn't been expecting Zim to so willingly let them in.

The first to recover from her surprise, Rose moved in confidently, Jack following behind her as they had no intentions of beating around the bush. "Zim, where is Dib? What did you do with him?" she asked in a serious voice, keeping a somewhat defensive stance as she wasn't sure what to expect from Zim so far as his state of mind was concerned.

Realizing this, Zim blushed and looked away. "He's in bed right now...He...Umm..." he wasn't sure whether he should tell them about everything that happened, just knowing Dib would get embarrassed if he did. "There was an accident..." he said, leaving it at that and changing the subject quickly. "Are you okay?" he asked, directing his question at Jack.

But rather than catching that question, both Jack and Rose sent him horrified looks. "What?!" they said in unison, then sending each other worried looks, afraid of what kind of 'accident' Zim could be referring to.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 81. =3 Once again, responses to reviews will be picked up the next time I update a set of chapters. But until then, hope you guys enjoyed~


	81. Chapter 82

ZADR Orange Chapter 82

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Taking another step forward towards Zim, Jack sent him an all too serious look. "Zim, what happened?! And don't try changing the subject! If I weren't okay, we wouldn't be here right now! But I'm obviously fine, so just please tell us what happened!" he pleaded with the other in an all to urgent voice to just tell them what happened.

"Please, Zim! We've been worried sick about him ever since you took him from our house! We're concerned about him! And we're concerned about the smeets!"

Swallowing, Zim blushed some more. "U-Uh...Well...I-It's nothing BIG. Just a little accident...B-But...He's really upset about it..." he said, still not wanting to tell them what happened.

"Zim! Tell us what happened! It's the least you could do after what you did to Jack back at our house! So don't just brush it off like it's nothing! If he doesn't want us bringing it up, then we won't! But at least tell us what happened first! We want to make absolutely sure he's okay! And we can't do that if you're keeping secrets from us!"

Swallowing again, Zim blushed even darker. "He wet himself...W-We were playing around, and he told me to stop, but I thought he was joking because we were both laughing so hard..." he tried to explain.

"Wh-What?" Rose now looked more surprised than anything else. "He wet himself? W-Well, what exactly were you doing to him to make him do that? Poor thing must be so embarrassed..." she said, dropping her gaze down to the ground.

"C-Can we at least see him? We won't even bring it up. We just want to know he's doing alright."

"I-I was just tickling him..." Zim blushed and looked away once more. "I'll...go see if he wants visitors...He was really upset..." he said before heading for the bedroom to check on Dib.

Meanwhile, down in the bedroom, Dib laid lifelessly on one side, hugging a pillow close to himself as Gir sat nearby, an array of random beauty products surrounding him as he played around with Dib's antennae, tying bows onto the ends of them.

Trying to keep himself from laughing upon entering, Zim smiled. It was cute, but this was serious. "Dib? Dib, are you awake? Jack and Rose came over to see you..." he said in a quiet voice to the hybrid, taking his own seat next to his dysfunctional SIR unit.

Antennae perking a bit, Dib otherwise remained facing away from Zim, refusing to sit up or even turn over in bed. He couldn't. He felt as though he had completely shut down as Gir continued to play with his antennae. Then, closing his eyes, he sighed. "You told them what happened, didn't you?" he said, antennae now drooping as he hid his face back in the pillow.

Zim looked away sadly. "I'm sorry, Dib...But they wouldn't let me leave the living room until I told them what happened..." he said, feeling rather guilty now for not having tried harder to change the subject.

Curling in on himself a bit, Dib could only sigh again. "I knew it...You wouldn't have come down here to ask me if you hadn't...You would have just brought them down here..." he murmured into the pillow before lifting his head a bit again to rest a cheek against it. "They're not going to leave until we let them see me, are they?" he then said, knowing Jack and Rose wouldn't have come all this way had they not intended to see him.

Zim sighed. "No, Dib. They're not...Y-You don't have to do anything, okay? Just act like you're asleep, and I'll bring you up there for a minute or two. Then, once they leave, I'll bring you back down to bed. You won't even have to say a word." he said, wanting Jack and Rose to leave just as much as he assumed Dib wanted them to leave.

"Forget it...I-If they want to come down here and see me, then just let them...There's no point in delaying it any longer if they already know..."

"...Dib..." Zim's antennae drooped before he turned around to leave. "I'll tell them you're sleeping..." he said, suddenly feeling as though letting them see Dib would be HUGE mistake.

Sitting up in the bed at those words, Dib spoke back up before the other could leave. "And do you really think that will work? Do you really think they'll just leave because you tell them I'm asleep? Knowing them, they'll probably just think you're lying and trying to hide something from them." he said, starting to get upset that Zim wouldn't let him just get this over with.

Taking hold of his antennas, Zim groaned, tugging hard on them. "Then what am I supposed to say, huh?!" he exclaimed, beginning to grow frustrated.

"I already told you that if they wanted to see me to just let them come down and see me! They're not going to leave until they do, so we might as well get it over with! You already told them, and we're going to have to face them sooner or later anyways!"

Zim glared at Dib. "What is your problem?! Why are you acting like this?!" he exclaimed, not liking the tone of Dib's voice.

"What's MY problem?! What's YOUR problem?! YOU'RE the one who yelled at me first!" Dib glared back at Zim, antennae falling back to press against the back of his head in an all too irritated fashion.

"I'm doing the best I can, Dib! I'm trying to keep you happy and healthy! Make sure you eat! Watch out for you! The least you could do is act better towards me!"

"Then tell me what the fuck it is you want from me, Zim! What the fuck is it that you want me to do?! I never asked for this! I never fucking asked for any of this to happen! It's not like I'm demanding you to do all that stuff for me! You just do it!"

"I want you to get over yourself! It's NOT all about you, Dib! Shit happens, got it?! So just GROW UP and deal with it!" Zim shouted, fists clenched at his sides.

Having not believed Zim, both Jack and Rose, meanwhile, stood right outside their bedroom door, having followed after Zim as soon as he left the room. They had missed out on most of the conversation between the two, but had arrived just in time to hear Zim shout all this at Dib.

Thankfully for the two humans, however, neither Dib or Zim noticed them standing in the doorway. "What the fuck is with your attitude all of a sudden?! I'm not the one who's making it all about me! Every time I want you to focus a little more on yourself rather than worrying about me, you refuse to!" Dib screamed back at him.

"BECAUSE I HAVE TO! YOU'RE PREGNANT! AND IT'S MY FAULT! I'M TRYING TO MAKE IT UP TO YOU! Oh, but you just can't make it easy on me, can you?! Every time I mess up even the smallest bit, you run out of here crying! HOW DO YOU THINK IT MAKES ME FEEL TO KNOW YOU'D RATHER BE WITH YOUR ABUSIVE SISTER AND HER EVIL GIRLFRIEND THEN HERE WITH ME?!"

"I never said that! I never said I wanted to be with Gaz and Tak over you! You just don't get it, do you?! I want to be with you! I want to be with you and only you! But sometimes I doubt whether you actually want to be with me! And now! Now all you're saying to me sounds more like you only want to be with me because you feel bad about getting me knocked up! It's always just because I'm pregnant!"

Grabbing onto his antennas, Zim growled and tugged on them hard, so hard it felt as though he were going to rip them out completely. And he half wanted to just to make this all stop. All he wanted was to curl up in bed and to cuddle up with Dib until he fell asleep. But he couldn't take it anymore. He had tried everything he could think of to show that he wanted to be with the little now hybrid and it was all for naught. But just as he was about to give in to this argument, a new idea hit him in that moment and he let go of his antennas. He then proceeded to storm up to Dib, almost threateningly. "If you don't like me, that's FINE! Okay! But don't EVER say I don't want to be with you!" he growled out before reaching behind himself to remove his PAK. "I've ALWAYS wanted to be with you, but you hated me! So I did whatever it took to get your attention! I-If you can't see that...th-then...then HERE!" he closed his eyes tightly and looked away before pulling off his PAK and handing it to Dib. "Take it..." he pushed it forward towards the other.

Eyes growing wide at having the PAK shoved towards him, Dib lifted his gaze up to look at Zim. "Wh-What are you trying to prove, Zim...?" he grabbed the PAK and hugged it close to him, tears welling up in his eyes. "Wh-Why do you think you have to try and kill yourself to prove your love to me...? I-I already know you love me...A-And I thought you knew that I loved you...And now...Y-You're trying to leave me again, only this time permanently..." he looked back up at Zim, reaching out an arm as though to grab the other's uniform and pull him back so he could place the PAK back on him. But the Irken pulled away, causing him to drop his hand back down. "I-Is this really how you want things to end?" he asked, voice shaking.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 82. =3 Until next time~


	82. Chapter 83

ZADR Orange Chapter 83

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Avoiding Dib's gaze, Zim looked away. "No...But it has to..." he said in a quiet voice.

The tears coming now, Dib hugged the PAK even closer to himself. "Is it because you think I hate you?" he asked, his voice coming out broken.

Eyes stinging as he held back his own tears, Zim kept his gaze looking away, his time having already started counting down from 10 minutes. "No...I-I want you to know I care...I would do anything for you...I'd give you my life..." he said just to have Dib cut him off.

"But I don't want you to give me your life! I already know you'd do that for me! You've already done that so many times! And now all I want to do is to be with you! But you never believe me! If you would really do anything for me, then don't do this to yourself! That's all I want! I want you to be alive and warm! I want to wrap my arms around you and feel your heart beating! But most of all, I want you to keep your promise to me! I want you to stay with me no matter what! I want you to be there when our smeets are born! I want you to be in their lives just as much as I want you to be in mine!"

Zim's antennae wilted. "You're the one with the PAK...It's your choice...I won't complain no matter what you pick..." he said, making no move forward or backwards.

For several long moments, Dib could only stare up at Zim before slowly pushing himself up out of the bed to approach the other cautiously, afraid he might try to pull away again. Then, when he had gotten close enough, he reached out a second time to take the Irken by his uniform top and pull him close to his bare body, reaching around to feel for the ports in his back so he could reconnect the PAK, never once letting the other break eye contact with him. After some difficulty getting it back on, he finally heard it snap back into place and Zim gasp as though he had been holding his breath this entire time. Hands shaking, he then moved them down from Zim's PAK to grasp onto his shirt, clinging to him for support as he finally broke down crying, hiding his face in the other's shirt.

Smiling sadly, Zim wrapped his arms around Dib tightly, pulling him closer and nuzzling into him. "I love you..." he said in a quiet whisper to the other.

Taking a moment to just recover from the shock of what Zim had nearly done to himself, Dib then pulled away to slap him hard across the face, angry now as he glared up at the Irken. "DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" he screamed before panting out heavily, his breathing unsteady. "Don't you ever...EVER do that again!" he screamed a second time then a third, his voice growing weaker each time as he shook where he stood, stumbling into Zim and just clinging to him, more tears slipping from his eyes. "...I love you too goddamn much..." his voice now came out in a whisper.

Zim smiled happily. "You haven't done anything like that since I kissed you..." he giggled a little and kissed Dib on his cheek. "I believe you...and...I promise...I'll only let myself die when you tell me to..." he said in a soft voice to the hybrid.

Before he could speak again, Dib had to catch his breath first. "And if I tell you to never die?" he asked between pants.

"Then I'll do my best not to." Zim nuzzled him. "So...Can we put this behind us? Will you come up and see Jack and Rose?" he asked, just wanting to move on past everything that had happened.

Remaining silent for a few moments, Dib finally nodded his head slowly. "...Okay..." he closed his eyes tiredly. "Just...give me a minute..." he said, trying to slow down his breathing.

Rubbing his antennas a little, Zim stroked Dib's hair. "Okay..." he nodded, waiting for Dib to catch his breath.

Antennae twitching slightly against Zim's hands before relaxing, Dib's eyes remained closed. "I need some clean clothes..." he murmured against the other's chest.

"Okay." Zim slid his hands down the sides of his face, all the way down to his hips before letting go. "We should have gone shopping before now..." he said, looking up to the ceiling. "Computer! Dib needs clothes!" he ordered it to find some for him.

"They're still dirty."

"Then WASH THEM! And bring up an alternative!"

"And how exactly do you suppose I do that? The majority of clothes we have here won't fit on him. You'll just have to find something else for him to wear." the computer said before setting to work at washing the few articles of clothing that still did fit Dib.

Wrapping his arms around Dib once more, Zim sighed. "We really need to go shopping..." he said again before spotting the blanket on the bed and grinning. "Hold on." he grabbed the blanket and put it on Dib, forming a sort of robe around him. "How's that?" he asked, wanting to make sure Dib was comfortable with wearing it like that for now.

Turning this way and that, Dib looked himself over before sighing a bit. "I guess it will have to do for now...But I think we should go out shopping tomorrow for new clothes before I get too much bigger." he said, pulling it tighter around himself and pressing a hand to the side of his stomach.

Rubbing his belly gently, Zim smiled. "Anything you want, Dib." he said, just wanting to make Dib happy.

Dib looked back up at Zim. "I want...I want whatever you want." he said, meeting Zim's gaze with his own golden-brown eyes.

Zim kissed him gently. "You know what I want." he purred, nipping at Dib's neck but quickly backing away. "Uhh...B-But...Uhh...L-Let's go see Jack and Rose now, kay?" he gestured towards the door.

His eyes fluttering closed, Dib inhaled sharply at the small nip to his neck before breathing out slowly and lazily, opening his eyes to stare back up into Zim's crimson eyes. "...Okay..." he nodded his head slowly, allowing Zim to lead him out of the room with him.

Pushing the door open more to make his way out with Dib, Zim yelped when he bumped into Jack and Rose, who had been listening outside the door. "Wh-What are you doing down here?!" he exclaimed once he had snapped back to reality.

Jack and Rose both jumped back themselves, looking at each other really quickly before looking back at Zim and Dib.

"U-Umm...W-Well, we were...W-We were just...Uhh..." Rose began, looking over at Jack for help.

"W-Were you watching and listening to us that entire time?" Dib asked, blushing a bright red now.

Avoiding eye contact, Jack and Rose both blushed themselves.

"Uhh...W-Well..."

Tugging at his antennas again, Zim whined. "How much did you see?" he asked, knowing they must have seen a lot if not the entire thing.

"Uhh...All of it?"

"B-But we didn't mean to intrude on you two! W-We were just worried about Dib a-and weren't sure whether you were telling us the truth about checking up on him or not. W-We're sorry about eavesdropping on you."

Pulling close to Dib, Zim blushed and looked away from them. "W-Well, he's okay..." he said, pouting a bit.

Rose could only sigh out a bit at Zim's reaction. "Please don't hate us...We're sorry. You have to know we're just worried about you and your smeets. Ever since you both walked into our lives, we've worried constantly about the both of you. Perhaps we're just overreacting, but we can't help but worry about you two sometimes. We want you to be happy and do what's best for your smeets." she said in a truly sincere voice.

Zim nodded. "We know..." he sighed out.

"We're sorry...W-We didn't mean to make you worry so much..." Dib said, his antennae drooping as he continued to stare down at the floor, his face still flushed.

Jack smiled. "It's okay. We're just glad you're okay now." he said, relieved to see everything seemed to have worked itself out.

"...S-Sorry about your arm..."

Blinking down at his arm, Jack then smiled back at Zim. "Heh...Don't even worry about it. You didn't pierce my shoulder too deeply. It will heal in no time." he said reassuringly to the other.

Zim nodded sadly. "Good..." he said, almost tiredly.

"Hey, come on, now. Cheer up. I already told you not to worry about it." Jack said, reaching out to place a hand on the Irken's shoulder and squeeze it a bit.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 83. =3 Until next time~


	83. Chapter 84

ZADR Orange Chapter 84

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Stepping forward, Rose reached out a hand towards Dib so she could push back a bit of his hair. "Well, everything seems to be alright here again." she said, caressing his cheek gently and smiling at him softly. "So long as you two are getting along and taking care of those smeets, we don't have anything to worry about." she said, just happy the two had worked things out on their own.

His eyes falling half lidded and antennae falling back to rest comfortably against his head in an almost nostalgic way, Dib melted a bit at her touch, it reminding him so much of his own mother's. "...The smeets are fine..." he said, in an almost dazed fashion as his hands felt along his belly. "They're moving and everything..." he said before finally closing his eyes tiredly.

"Hmm?" Rose blinked down in some surprise at his words before looking back at Zim. "But I thought you said they were in eggs." she said, sending the Irken a slightly confused look.

"..." Zim blushed then looked up at her, smiling. "They hatched..." he said in a quiet voice.

"Inside of him?!" Rose looked shocked now as she dropped her own hands down from Dib's face to his belly just to find that they were indeed moving around. But rather than looking happy, she looked more worried than anything else. "Z-Zim...H-How exactly is he going to be giving birth to them then? D-Do you know? H-Have you given it any thought at all since they hatched?" she asked, continuing to feel around his stomach.

Holding Dib closer, Zim avoided looking at her. "L-Like a normal birth..." he answered in just as quiet a voice as before.

"S-So it's going to be a live birth..." Rose said, more to herself now. She had been a little worried about how he was going to give birth to them since the beginning, but now that little bit of worry had become a lot of worry at finding out this new information. "A-Are you going to be ready to deal with something like that?" she then asked, glancing at Zim momentarily.

Zim wrapped his arms tighter around Dib. "I don't know..." he admitted, kissing Dib gently.

Looking even more worried now, Rose sighed. "Okay...W-Well, have you at least given thought to what you'll be doing if there are...umm...complications...?" she asked, not meaning to scare either of them but knowing it was something that had to be asked sooner or later.

Hoping Dib would know what to say, Zim glanced at him nervously.

"I don't want to lose the smeets...If we do run into...complications...I want him to cut them out of me...No matter what..." Dib looked at Zim with an all too serious look. "But only IF there are complications...Otherwise, I want to try giving birth to them naturally...And we were hoping you could help us pick out some of those classes pregnant couples go to right before giving birth...So we could prepare..." he said, glancing back and forth between Zim and Rose.

Nuzzling into his shoulder quietly, Zim whined and pulled closer to Dib.

Rose glanced at Jack. "Sure we can. There is a class nearby that meets once a week." she said, nodding at them.

"But is that all you want to do to prepare? I mean, I'm not saying going to the classes won't help, but were you planning on doing this all alone? With nobody else in the room to help you?"

"W-We have the computer..."

Not so sure he liked the idea of Zim's computer 'helping' with that, Dib's antennae perked at those words before drooping a bit.

"But who's delivering the smeets, Zim? A-And who's going to be standing next to Dib, holding his hand and reassuring him that everything is going to be alright?"

Zim's antennae drooped. "C-Can you guys help us?" he asked, just then seeming to realize how hard doing this alone would be.

Rose smiled. "Of course. We'll help you in any way we can. Just tell us what you want us to do, and we'll do it." she said, more than happy to help them with whatever they needed at this point.

Zim smiled back. "Thanks...Umm...Can you help us get some new clothes for Dib then?" he asked, figuring they should get that out of the way first before deciding what else they'd need help with.

"Sure. If you'd like, we could drive by tomorrow and pick you up to go clothes shopping with us at the mall. I know the perfect store we could go to to get him some bigger clothes."

Nodding, Zim smiled even more. "That would be good..." he said, starting to feel somewhat better now that he knew Jack and Rose were there to help them.

"I know it's a bit early to be worrying about these kinds of things, but is there anything else you'd like to shop for while we're there? Like things for the smeets? Or perhaps anything you think you'll be needing for Dib? Like certain foods or medications that might help with his pregnancy symptoms?"

"Uhhh..." Zim looked at Dib for the answer.

"U-Ummm...I-I guess...I-If you think we should stock up on that stuff now...B-But no medications. I don't want them to affect the smeets or their growth..."

Petting Dib gently, knowing he'd be much better off if he just took some pills now and then, Zim sighed but didn't push the subject. "Then I guess we need a mother and child store..." he said, having seen a few during his time on Earth.

"Should I have Zim disguise me as a female then? So they don't question why we're buying a bunch of baby supplies?"

Rose smiled. "You don't have to. Jack and I will join you so they'll just think you're buying it for me." she said, Dib's weight not noticeable enough yet for anyone to think otherwise.

Dib nodded his head. "Okay..." he said before looking up at Rose. "Have you already shopped for your own baby?" he asked, not wanting this to be a waste of their time.

"...No...W-We still have everything left from the first times..."

"O-Oh..." Dib blushed, having not meant to bring bad memories back up. "...S-Sorry..." he apologized, dropping his gaze back down to the ground.

"It's okay." Rose wrapped her hand around Jack's, squeezing it lightly. "I-I think you two are our good luck charm...I-I've never carried for this long before..." she said, pressing her free hand to her belly.

Bringing her hand up to his lips to kiss, Jack could only smile at that. "I think they're going to get us through this..." he whispered, squeezing her hand back gently.

"I hope so..." Dib said softly, leaning against Zim for a little extra support.

Holding Dib tight, Zim smiled. "I think we'll all get through this..." he said, more to Dib than anyone else.

"...I hope so..." Dib repeated a second time, this time nuzzling his face into the Irken's chest tiredly.

Kissing the top of his head, Zim smiled even more. "You're tired, huh, Dib?" he said, able to see it in Dib's actions.

"Nooo...I'm just resting my eyes..." Dib murmured against the other's shirt, obviously worn out.

Zim sighed. "Maybe we should do this later...Dib's been really tired here lately..." he said, petting back a bit of his hair.

Rose smiled at them. "That's normal around this point in the pregnancy. And I'm sure carrying more than one smeet is putting more strain on his body than he even realizes. So it's fine. We'll get going now so he can get some rest." she said, turning towards the exit.

Zim smiled back at them. "Well, okay. If it's normal, then I won't worry." he said, kissing Dib again. "And we'd appreciate that...Maybe just a nap?" he asked Dib, wanting to get him some clothes soon, knowing he couldn't go around naked...Not that he would really mind.

Already half asleep against Zim, Dib nodded his head slowly. "...Okay..." he agreed, no longer really paying attention.

Rose smiled. "Well, go ahead and give us a call when you're ready to be picked up for shopping." she said, not wanting to rush them.

Zim nodded. "Will do...Uh...You know how to get out, right?" he wanted to make sure before getting Dib into bed.

"Yeah. We can just backtrack. You get him in bed." Jack said, smiling at them.

"Thanks." Zim wrapped his arms around Dib, lifting him up bridal style and carrying him back into the bedroom for him to sleep.

Waving after them, Jack then took Rose by the hand and led her back up towards the house level of the base to leave.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 84. =3 Until next time~


	84. Chapter 85

ZADR Orange Chapter 85

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Back down in the bedroom, Dib, meanwhile, sank into the covers comfortably, curling in on himself to sleep.

Nuzzling Dib, Zim purred and crawled into the bed next to him. "Sleep well, Dibbers." he said in a soft voice to the hybrid.

"Mmmm...Do you think we should make a list of what we need before we leave...?" Dib asked, his eyes remaining closed all the while.

Zim nodded. "If you want...But let's do it after you rest, kay?" he said, in no particular rush to get what they needed for the smeets.

Letting out a small whine, Dib could only shift about in his sleep restlessly. "B-But we don't even know what we need to get yet..." he whined, wanting to work it out now rather than later but having some difficulty opening his eyes back up.

Zim stroked Dib's side gently. "Don't worry, Dib. We'll take care of all of it once you're done resting. That's what you should be focusing on right now, okay?" he said, not wanting Dib to push himself too much.

Continuing to shift about uncomfortably, Dib finally gave in after a while, letting sleep take hold of him.

Hearing Dib's breathing even out, Zim smiled and nuzzled closer to him. "I love you..." he whispered quietly to the other.

Shifting closer to Zim, Dib remained fast asleep, his antennae twitching against Zim's. "Mmm...Zim..." he yawned out in his sleep, soaking up what warmth he could from the other.

Nuzzling down even more into the covers, Zim then pulled the remaining blankets up over the two of them tighter for more warmth before finally letting himself slip into his own deep sleep.

Upon waking up a few hours later, Dib slowly sat up next to the apparently sleeping Zim and had a look about the dark room. He hadn't gotten as much rest as he would have liked and began shifting about restlessly again in an attempt to fall back to sleep.

Eyes opening at all the sudden movement, Zim yawned. "Awake already, Dib?" he asked in a tired voice.

Dib could only let out a small whine in response. "...I can't sleep..." he said, feeling extremely tired.

Zim looked up at him concerned. "What's wrong, Dib?" he asked, beginning to come out of his sleepy daze.

His eyes half lidded now, Dib shrugged. "...I just can't sleep..." he said, not really knowing why he couldn't.

Reaching over to rub his side, Zim sighed. "Anything I can do to help?" he asked, knowing the other hadn't been asleep for more then a few hours.

Rolling over onto his side to face Zim, Dib shrugged again. "What time is it?" he asked, feeling as though he had lost his grip on time again.

Zim yawned again. "Late." he muttered, starting to feel himself falling off to sleep again.

"Oh...Sorry..." Dib apologized for interrupting the other's sleep. "Can I just...I don't know...go upstairs and watch TV or something until I feel like sleeping again? You don't have to come up with me...But I just feel like I can't fall back to sleep down here..." he said, stretching a bit.

Stretching himself, Zim shook his head. "No, no. It's okay. I'll come up with you. I need to move around some anyways." he said, scooting over towards the edge of the bed.

"Are you sure? You look pretty tired..." Dib said, not wanting the other to lose sleep over him.

"Yeah, yeah. It's fine." Zim said, sitting up and swinging his legs out of bed. "Let's go." he gestured for Dib to follow him.

Antennae perking before wilting, Dib pushed himself up out of bed to follow the other. "...I'm sorry..." he apologized again, feeling bad that he had woken Zim up in the first place.

Zim yawned. "It's okay, Dib. Like I said, I need to move around a little myself." he said, heading for the elevator.

Not so sure he believed the Irken, Dib sighed but decided not to say anything more about it as he followed Zim to the elevator. Upon entering the elevator, he then pressed his back to one of the walls and watched as Zim seemed to pace a bit, stretching himself out and slowly waking up more.

Pushing on his back, Zim leaned backwards and listened to the loud cracking noise as he popped it.

Flinching slightly at the sound, Dib shuddered as they waited for the elevator to reach the house level of the base.

Eyeing him curiously, Zim leaned back next to Dib. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, feeling as though Dib weren't telling him something.

"I-I don't know, I just... don't know..." Dib admitted, his eyes falling half lidded again as he slumped back against the wall of the elevator. "I feel...off for some reason...I don't know why I can't sleep all of a sudden...But I just can't...M-Maybe I'm just restless, but this is the first time something like that has affected my sleep so much..." he said, honestly not knowing what was wrong with him.

Zim looked confused. "Huh..." he wrapped an arm around Dib, pulling close. "Maybe you are just restless...or maybe THEY are restless..." he said, poking at Dib's belly.

Dib yawned a bit. "Well, they have been moving around a lot lately." he said, pressing one of his hands to his side when he felt a flutter of movement inside him then a slightly harder kick.

Kissing Dib, Zim smiled before dropping his hands to his belly. "They're getting stronger, huh?" he said, feeling about for their movements.

Dib could only sigh a bit. "Who knows...But they're definitely kicking harder..." he said, flinching at another hard kick.

Leaning down, Zim kissed Dib's belly. "Maybe they want their mommy to stop moping." he joked.

Dib's antennae perked at that. "Moping? I'm not moping!" he glared slightly at Zim, antennae falling back. "And quit taking their side! They're not even out of the womb yet!" he pouted.

Zim laughed. "Dib, they're your kids too. You don't need to be jealous of them..." he said, nuzzling Dib's belly affectionately.

"Well, I know that..." Dib blushed. "And I am NOT jealous of them! You're just spoiling them..." he said, looking away.

Zim giggled. "Dib, they're not even born yet. How am I spoiling them?" he asked, poke poking at his stomach again.

"Well, you're taking their side over mine for starters...And before you know it, they'll be taking advantage of you. In fact, it already seems like they've got you wrapped around their little fingers...er...or whatever it is they have on their hands at this point in the pregnancy..."

From his crouched position, Zim looked up at Dib. "Dib..." he sighed and stood up, holding his head in his hands. "I still love you the most. They don't control me, okay? I just want to make sure you're alright. And if talking to them can calm them down enough to let you sleep, then it was worth it." he said, kissing Dib deeply.

"Mmm..." Dib's eyes snapped wide open at the sudden kiss before falling half lidded as he relaxed in the other's arms, kissing back gently."That still doesn't mean you had to call me mopey..." he panted out in a quiet voice once they had broken the kiss.

Zim snickered. "But you are mopey, Dib." he kissed him again, running a hand along one of his antennas. "Ohh so mopey." he sang out in a sing-song voice.

Flailing at the other to leave him alone now, Dib could only let out a small whine at that. "No, I'm nooot." he whined out before pouting at the other again, his antennae pressed all the way back against his head.

Wrapping his arms around Dib, Zim giggled and ground their hips together despite Dib's large belly.

His breath getting caught in the back of his throat, Dib could only gasp in response, his eyelids slipping closed. The Irken had rubbed up against a virtually bare part of his body had it not been for the bed sheet still wrapped around him. "Mmmmm...You know, the smeets are technically awake right now..." he breathed out against the other's lips as he brought at least one hand down to place upon his expanded belly.

Zim ginned. "I don't think they'll notice." he said, licking the side of Dib's face and purring.

"How can you be so sure...? They may be more observant than you think..." Dib breathed out heavily, his eyes locked on Zim's.

Zim sighed. "Dib...I'll quit bugging you if you want me to..." he said, looking away before pulling back as the elevator dinged.

Still clinging to Zim for support, Dib didn't pull away. "Do you think it would hurt them?" he asked, resting a cheek against Zim's chest comfortably.

Tilting his head to the side, Zim shook it a little. "No." he kissed Dib on the top of his head.

Letting his eyelids slip closed a second time when Zim kissed him, Dib sighed out a bit. "...Do you think it would hurt me...?" he then asked in a quiet whisper, breathing warm, moist air against the other's antennae.

Zim nuzzled him. "It didn't seem to the first time..." he answered.

Letting out a small amused laugh, Dib smirked to himself a bit. "Heh...Oh yeah. I forgot that part doesn't come for a few more months..." he teased the other a bit, smirking up at him with a half lidded gaze on his face. "I suppose that means it can't hurt me anymore than it already will at this point." he laughed.

Not finding the joke very funny, Zim sighed but nodded. "No." he kissed him again. "I don't think it could." his voice came out in a quiet whisper.

His antennae falling, Dib noticed Zim's reaction to his teasing and frowned. "S-Sorry...D-Do you want me to stop?" he asked, letting go of Zim to take his own step back now. He hadn't meant to make the Irken feel bad about his pregnancy.

Zim shook his head, no. "No, it's okay." he smiled, pulling Dib close again. "You have the right to make jokes." he then said, just holding Dib tightly against his body.

Resting a cheek against the Irken's chest, Dib clung back onto Zim. "I don't mean for them to make you feel bad. I'm just trying to lighten the mood a little. But I guess I'm not very good at that." he sighed, still feeling bad about bringing it up in the first place.

"That's okay, Dib." Zim nuzzled him, falling silent for a moment. "I-If you really want to...we could do it now..." he offered.

Eyes growing wide, Dib lifted his head up enough to look up at Zim. "W-Well, I already told you before that I-I want...wh-whatever you want..." he said that last part in a quiet voice, blushing a light pink.

Kissing Dib, Zim sighed before licking up the side of his face. "But do you want this?" he asked again, not wanting to do it if Dib didn't want to.

"All I want...is you..." Dib looked up into Zim's eyes. "And I don't mean just to be with you...I want all of you. And if this is the only way to achieve that, then I want it just as much as anything else I want of you..." he said, body shaking slightly.

Zim smiled a little. "Okay." he kissed him deeply, backing out of the elevator and pulling him along.

Their lips locked all the while, Dib allowed Zim to lead him out of the elevator.

Leaning back to jerk the blanket robe off of Dib, Zim pulled Dib to the couch, smiling as he enjoyed what he saw of Dib's naked form. "I love you." he kissed him, moving him so he could sit down on the couch before taking his own clothes off.

Eyes snapping wide open when Zim yanked the blanket off of him, Dib blushed, trying to keep himself calm as he was just a bit nervous about this. He kept his cool regardless however when Zim moved in for another kiss before seating him on the couch and stripping down in front of him. Swallowing thickly as he watched the Irken, he tried to keep his blush down to a minimum so Zim wouldn't notice.

Laughing a little, Zim smiled. "Are you that nervous, Dib?" he asked, sitting next to him and kissing him gently again, now naked as well.

Dropping his gaze back down to the ground once the other had broken their kiss again, Dib could only blush even more at Zim's words. "No." he lied, cheeks a bright cherry-red color now.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 85. =3 Until next time~


	85. Chapter 87

A/N: Alright. Before any of you start freaking out on me, NO. The chapter number does NOT deceive you. This is indeed Chapter 87. What happened to Chapter 86, you ask? Well, as I'm certain you can all guess from reading the end of Chapter 85, Chapter 86 would have just led into a sex scene, which quite obviously isn't allowed here on FF. So, for those of you 18 years of age and older, you can feel free to either look this chapter up on DA under the account name Dib-The-Hybrid or follow the FA link I leave in my profile.

YES, you do need an account to access the chapter on these sites. And YES, you do need to be 18 or older in order to view the content of these chapters. (Also keep in mind that you may have to adjust your mature content settings on FA before you'll be able to see the chapter.)

Things I will NOT do:

Post the full sex scene here on FF.

Send the chapter in a PM to anybody who asks me.

Kindly refrain from sending me any messages about how some people get away with posting sexual content here on FF. The bottom line is, sexual content is NOT allowed here on FF. Regardless of whether people get away with it or not, that does not make everybody immune to having their stories removed. I have had stories removed in the past and I refuse to put myself in such a situation with this story. After all, it only takes one report to have a story completely removed from this site. So please bare that in mind before you decide to all come harassing me about it.

Don't believe me about FF's rules on sexual content? Then please see my Chapter 25 A/N in "Dib Is Sick" for a more detailed run-through of this site's rules and regulations. I'm serious, you guys. Please no messages about my decision not to post the full sex scene here. I am tired to going over this every time I post a chapter with sexual content in it. I would really appreciate it if you guys would try to see where I'm coming from in all this and just respect my decision not to post that sort of content here on FF.

That said, I hope you guys otherwise enjoy the continuation of ZADR Orange. =3 (P.S.- Yes, the above is going to be my new warning for ALL sex scenes from now on. Doesn't really matter which story I'm posting for. The same applies for all of them.)

ZADR Orange Chapter 87

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

For the remainder of the night, Dib slept soundly enough, only awakening when the sun dancing across his face came to rest right over his eyes.

Zim, meanwhile, was cuddled up close to Dib, a smile on the smaller male's face.

Blinking his eyes open slowly, Dib turned his head left and then right to have a look around. "Mmm...Zim?" he murmured the other's name, feeling hungry. "Zim?" he said a second time when he got no response. Upon getting no response a third time, he slowly sat himself up next to the other and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "I'm going to...going to go get myself some breakfast..." he mumbled, crawling off the couch to head into the kitchen. He wanted to rummage through the fridge before Gir made a mess of everything edible.

Face scrunching up, Zim whined and flopped his hand around in search of the missing hybrid. Upon not finding Dib, he groaned and forced his eyes open a bit, hissing when they were assaulted by sunlight.

Already preparing himself a few waffles in the kitchen by this point, Dib heated them up in the toaster before drenching them in syrup, whipped cream, and plenty of sugar.

Rubbing at his eyes, Zim yawned before getting up to stumble his way into the kitchen. "It's too early to wake up...Stupid sun..." he glared back in the direction the sunlight was coming from.

Slumping down into a seat at the table, Dib yawned also. "Mmmmm...Blame the smeets...They were hungry..." he said before digging into his waffles, only stopping after he had finished his first one. "Want some?" he asked, holding up a piece of waffle on a fork.

Zim stretched. "I'll make my own. You need to eat." he said, waving off Dib's offer.

Dib sighed. "Fine. If you say so. But I really wouldn't mind. I was planning on making more." he said, biting off the piece of waffle that was hanging on his fork.

Zim smiled. "It's okay, Dib. You just eat." he said as he made up his own waffles, pouring syrup on them before sitting down next to Dib.

"Okay..." Dib resumed eating slowly, cutting each waffle into pieces before popping them into his mouth.

Not as good at eating as Dib was, Zim picked up a whole waffle and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing slowly.

Staring at Zim for a moment, Dib stopped his eating. "Umm...Zim? Maybe you should switch plates with me." he said, pushing the already cut up pieces of waffle towards Zim and taking the Irken's own plate for himself. "Heh...Just don't want you to choke..." he smiled nervously at the other before setting to work on cutting up the waffles he had taken from Zim.

Watching confused as Dib took his food away and replaced it with his own, Zim swallowed the waffle in his mouth, having to pound his chest to get it all down before gasping for air. "Wh-What do you mean?" he asked once he could breath again.

"Err..." Dib shifted his gaze to the side, not wanting Zim to get upset with him. "I-I just think it would be easier for you to eat this way." he smiled innocently at the other.

Grumbling about how he wasn't a baby, how he could cut up his own food, and how he just didn't want to, Zim quickly got over it and returned back to his food silently, digging in again.

Antennae falling, Dib, flinched back a bit at Zim's reaction before slumping down in his seat a bit more. He hadn't meant for Zim to get mad at him as he picked at his food, eating it very slowly now.

Finishing off the last of his food, Zim looked up to see Dib being all mopey again. "What's wrong now?" he asked sighing, just knowing he must have done something to upset Dib.

"You're mad at me!" Dib practically exploded, shrinking down in his seat and antennae drooping even lower now. "I just can't say anything right in front of you! Everything I say or do gets you upset with me!" he exclaimed, his hormones driving him on again.

"Dib, that's not true!" Zim stood up quickly, going to his side. "I love you. I'm not mad at you. I thought we were just having fun..." he said, nuzzling into Dib.

"Well my idea of fun always seems to hurt you!" Dib turned in his seat to cling onto the Irken, hiding his face away in the other's shirt. "And I hate it whenever I hurt you..." he whimpered out softly, obviously upset now.

"But you didn't hurt me, Dib." Zim stroked his hair lovingly, petting his antennas. "You have to understand that just because I act like an asshole doesn't mean you've done anything wrong." he tried to soothe the hybrid.

Eyelids slipping halfway closed as Zim gently ran a hand over his antennae soothingly, Dib could only sniffle wetly.

Zim huggled him. "I know what'll cheer you up. How about we head over to Jack and Rose's and then get you some new clothes?" he offered.

Looking back up at Zim after a moment, Dib blinked large, honey-colored eyes up at him before speaking. "I need a pair of clothes to wear for the day." he reminded the other, still only wearing a blanket over his bare body at this point.

Zim nuzzled him. "I think the computer has them clean by now. COMPUTER!" he yelled to get its attention.

"WHAT?! WHAT NOW?!"

"Are Dib's clothes clean?"

The computer growled. "Well, they're clean, but not completely dry." it said, dropping the damp articles of clothing down onto the kitchen table near them.

Picking them up, Zim shook them out a little. "Do you mind?" he then asked Dib, turning to look back at him.

"N-No! Of course not!" Dib said, taking the clothes from Zim to hug to himself, not wanting to have to deal with the computer any longer.

Zim kissed him. "Then we can get dressed and go." he smiled, running off to get his own clothes on.

Merely watching as Zim left, Dib sighed before climbing into his own clothes and waiting.

Not wanting to leave Dib alone for too long, Zim got dressed into fresh clothes quickly before stumbling his way back to him while still pulling on one of his boots.

Having waited for Zim at the table, Dib looked back up as Zim entered the kitchen again. "A-Are we ready? O-Or were we going to make a list first before we go?" he asked, fidgeting in his seat a bit and playing with his fingers. He knew they were going shopping for the smeets too but had no idea where to begin so far as figuring out what they needed was concerned.

Pulling his boot on, Zim then stood up straight and smiled. "Why don't we just wing it? I'm sure Jack and Rose will know what we need anyways." he said, thinking a list unnecessary at this point.

Squirming about in his seat uncomfortably, Dib still felt rather nervous about it. "Well, maybe we should bring one of those books you bought just in case. After all, we're dealing with three smeets instead of one like Jack and Rose. Were there any that focused on the issue of raising multiples?" he asked, not wanting to assume Jack and Rose would know exactly what they needed.

"Hmm. There might be." Zim said before going to check the books.

Watching as Zim left to go check the books, Dib dropped his gaze back down to his stomach and began rubbing it gently with one hand once the other was out of sight. To say the very least, he was nervous about what they would be needing to care for multiple smeets and about whether there was anything parents of multiples were required to get that parents of single children weren't.

Digging through the piles of books, Zim finally found one keyed towards multiple children. "FOUND ONE!" he announced victoriously before returning to Dib.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Dib stood up when Zim entered the room with a book in hand.

Holding up his prize to Dib, Zim grinned wide. "See? I found one." he said, offering said book to Dib.

Taking the book from Zim, Dib smiled. "It seems like our best option would be to review the section focusing on preparation." he said as he flipped through a few more pages in the book before closing it and holding it close. "Alright. We'll take this one with us. And maybe we can look through it during lunch." he nodded to himself.

Wrapping his arms around Dib, Zim nuzzled into him. "Whatever you want." he kissed him before taking him by the hand and leading him to the door. "Ready to go then?" he asked, wanting to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything.

Giving it just a bit of thought, Dib stopped at the door. "W-Wait. What about money? Do you have any on you? And if so, do you think it will be enough? I'm expecting this trip will more than likely be pretty expensive." he said, biting down on his bottom lip.

Zim kissed him. "Do not worry, Dib-love. Zim has it covered." he pat his PAK, grinning wide.

"W-Well, alright...B-But if we at any point need more money, I can pull out the money my parents had put into a trust fund for me back when I was first born. They were saving it for when I went to college, b-but I don't think that's going to be much of an issue now."

Knowing how Dib must be feeling right then, Zim's antennae drooped. "I'm sorry..." he apologized, feeling guilty.

"Hmmm?" Dib sent Zim a slightly confused look. "S-Sorry for what?" he asked, not so sure what the Irken was apologizing for.

"...Everything..." Zim kissed Dib, holding him close. "I ruined your life..." he said, feeling as though he had limited Dib because of all this.

"What? Zim, you haven't ruined my life. You GAVE me a life. If it weren't for you, I'd have nothing right now. Just being with you, knowing that you exist is all I ever really wanted in life. I wanted proof that I wasn't insane. And now...Now I actually have the chance to live with you, to live with the one thing I've obsessed over ever since I was born. What more could I ask for?"

Zim smiled sadly. "A family that loves you..." he said, feeling as though that were the one main thing he'd robbed Dib of.

Dib smiled softly also. "Weeell...I think I've already got that too..." he said, dropping a hand down to press to his extended belly. "I mean, sure, I wish mom was still alive and that dad actually cared about us and that Gaz was more supportive, but even without them, I can be happy starting my own family with you and the smeets..." he said, imagining it already.

Pulling Dib close, Zim smiled. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" he asked just to emphasize his love for the other.

"Hmmm? Let me think about that." Dib faked thinking on it before smirking back at the other teasingly. "Only every 5 minutes or so." he said, leaning in to kiss Zim gently on the lips. "Your love is never-ending..." he whispered in a soft voice.

Zim grinned. "As it should be."

Smiling also, Dib wrapped his arms around the other and pressed his forehead to Zim's. "I love you too...so much..." he said, closing his eyes as he leaned in to rest himself comfortably against the Irken.

Scooping him up into his arms, Zim nuzzled Dib. "Let's go then." he said, carrying Dib out of the house.

Blinking his eyes open when he felt himself being lifted up bridal style, Dib stared up at Zim confused. "Zim? You know I can walk, right? You don't have to carry me." he said as Zim began making his way down the walkway to the sidewalk. It wasn't so much that he was opposed to being carried. He just didn't want Zim wearing himself out too quickly carrying him considering his increased weight over the past few weeks.

"It's okay, Dib." Zim kissed him. "You don't deserve to tire yourself out by walking." he said, just wanting to make things as comfortable as possible for Dib.

"But it's not fair for you to tire yourself out carrying me either. Really, Zim. I'll be fine." Dib said, squirming just the tiniest bit in Zim's arms.

"Well, since you want to walk SOOO badly." Zim laughed a little, letting Dib get back on the ground.

"What can I say? I haven't really gotten the chance to walk around in days. I think it will be good for me to use my legs at least for a little while...and preferably BEFORE I get too large to walk around on them any longer." Dib said, happily giving his legs a good stretch after two or more days of not moving around at all. "Besides, I don't want to go to bed at the end of the day restless again. Because if I'm restless, then THEY'RE restless, and that only leads to more kicks in the gut for me." he laughed.

Nodding his head at Dib's words, Zim quickly picked up his pace to catch up with the hybrid. "I guess so." he said, wrapping an arm around him. "But I'm keeping you close." he said, pointing one finger at Dib.

Turning around to face Zim as he continued to walk backwards, Dib smiled. "Why? Are you afraid I'll wander off and get lost or something?" he asked, his smile then turning more to a smirk as his eyelids fell half lidded. "Or are you more worried YOU'LL get lost if you don't stay near me?" he asked, knowing that Zim's sense of direction wasn't exactly the best when in the city.

"Well, I'm worried about you getting lost, of course!" Zim snapped to quickly, looking away and blushing.

Leaning in to kiss Zim on the forehead, Dib's smile softened. "Don't you worry about me, Zim. This isn't my first time going into the city. And I wasn't planning on wandering off too far anyways. Besides, how hard could it be for you to keep track of me? I'm the only pregnant male on this planet at the moment." he laughed a bit. "Not that the rest of the world will notice..." he said, not thinking it all that noticeable at the moment.

Zim giggled. "True. I'll just look for your big belly and wiggly scythe thing." he said, flicking at Dib's hair.

Laughing also, Dib then dropped his gaze back down to his stomach. "B-But really, Zim...Umm..." his smile dropped away as he looked at his stomach, examining it as though he hadn't noticed the weight gain until just then. "I-It's not that big, right?" he asked, turning this way and that to try and get a better idea of the dimensions of his stomach. "I-I mean, I don't look that fat yet, do I?" he asked, convinced for the time being that he didn't.

"Uhh." Zim blanched, trying to think up what to say. Dib HAD gotten pretty big. Sadly, Zim knew he'd be getting bigger. "I was only joking, Dib. You're beautiful no matter what your size. Besides, it's not your fault you're pregnant." he said, not realizing his mistake in saying that before it was too late.

Dib's face fell a bit along with his antennae at Zim's answer. "S-So I do look really fat?" he asked, looking back down at his stomach a second time, this time convinced that it must look worse than he thought.

"NO! No, you're not that big! B-But...eventually, you will be..." Zim tried to correct himself, holding Dib close.

"Then what's the point in even getting new clothes for me if I'm just going to end up looking like a whale!" Dib exploded, hiding his face away in Zim's chest, obviously upset now.

"Dib!" Zim hugged him tightly. "You're NOT going to look like a whale, okay? You need new clothes because you only have the pair you're wearing right now." he said, kissing him and stroking his hair. "Not that I would mind you going around naked, but I think it wouldn't really be appropriate..." he said with a small smirk.

Face pressed up to Zim's shirt, Dib could only blush a light pink at Zim's words before nuzzling himself deeper into the fabric. He was still upset, but after a moment or two, when his hormones had finally settled again, he managed to peel himself away from the shirt enough to peer up at Zim. "Y-You're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?" he asked, not wanting to hear that if it wasn't true.

"Of course not, Dib." Zim said, smiling gently at him. "I love you." he said in a soft voice to his hybrid, nuzzling against him affectionately.

His antennae falling back to rest comfortably against his head, Dib let his eyelids slip halfway closed. "...Okay..." he said, slowly letting his arms fall away from the other so he and Zim could continue walking towards Jack and Rose's house.

Arm wrapped around Dib's waist as they walked, Zim held him close.

Yawning when they reached the walkway to Jack and Rose's house, Dib leaned up against Zim a bit as they walked. "Do you really think we're going to be able to find some clothes that will actually fit me?" he asked after what felt like an eternity of silence.

Zim laughed. "Dib, you'd be surprised how ENORMOUS some of you humans are. You could wear the clothes AND live in them." he said, having seen quite a few hefty humans in his time on Earth.

Dib sighed. "Well, maybe YOU could..." he mumbled, his antennae drooping again as they approached the door and Zim knocked on it. He was on the verge of having another hormonal breakdown as his mood was being yanked around like a yo-yo, causing him to be perfectly calm one minute and then a wreck the next.

Zim sighed again. "Both of us could, Dib." he said, holding onto Dib tighter as they waited for Jack or Rose to come to the door. It was the latter that did.

"Hel-Oh, Dib!" Rose pulled him into a tight hug, or as tight as two very pregnant people could. "Are you feeling better today?" she asked before really getting a good look at him.

Staring down at the floor tiredly, Dib's antennae merely drooped even more.

Blinking down at him, Rose then lifted her gaze up to look at Zim. They both looked tired. "Bad morning?" she asked, directing her question more at Zim as she held Dib close in a comforting way.

"You could say that..."

Coming to the door all smiles, Jack stopped upon seeing all the sour expressions. "Who died?" he asked, thinking that may very well be the case given the looks on everybody's faces.

Rose rolled her eyes a bit. "Nobody, Jack. Dib's just...having a bad morning..." she said as she smoothed back a bit of his hair gently. "Do you want to tell me what's bothering you, Dib?" she then asked gently, wanting to see if there was anything she could do for him. "Or are you just not feeling well today?" she asked, not wanting to cross morning sickness off the list just yet.

Hesitating to answer at first, Dib finally looked back up at Rose. "Zim made me fat!" he exploded into tears, pointing accusingly at the other, on another one of his hormonal highs.

Eyes widening, Zim flinched and blushed at those words. "I-I didn't mean to..." he said in a quiet voice.

As Dib cried into her shirt, Rose looked up first at Zim and then back down at Dib. "Oh, no, no, no, Dib...Don't cry...Zim didn't make you fat...You look perfectly fine right now...And the weight will come off..." she tried to calm him.

Coming to stand next to Zim, Jack smiled. "Heh...Don't take it too personally, Zim...Rose said something very similar to me during her first pregnancy..." he said in a quiet yet reassuring voice to the other.

Antennae drooping, Zim didn't feel much better at those words, just then realizing he had forgotten his disguise again. "But you did it on purpose..." he said, looking back at Dib and feeling ten times worse.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 87. =3 I'll go ahead and get to answering reviews now:

To lillybean queen of the i ocean: Hello. =3 Long time no see. Glad to see you're still reading and enjoying the story. Thanks, as always, for keeping up and reviewing each chapter. ^^ It's always nice to hear when our readers are enjoying this story so much. Hope you love this next set of chapters as much as you did the last. Until next time~

To blood emocat (AKA Kayla): Hello again, and thank you for your review. =3 I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the updates, and I do hope you'll continue to enjoy them as they come. ^^ Heheh. And no. No need to worry about Zim and Dib. Their fights are going to be coming less and less now as this story progresses from this point on. Aside from some occasional screaming on Dib's end, their fights become much less explosive compared to how they are in the beginning of the story. But you'll see what I mean by that soon enough. Anyways, once again, thank you for reading. And I look forward to hearing back from you again in the near future. =3

Until next time~


	86. Chapter 88

ZADR Orange Chapter 88

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Not wanting either Rose or Dib to hear him, Jack dropped his voice down to an even lower whisper. "Actually, at the time, I hadn't been thinking about having kids at all yet. Rose was the one who wanted them in the first place. I was just going along with it because my mind was too far into the gutter to realize we weren't using any kind of protection, if you know what I mean. It wasn't until she first told me she was pregnant and after we lost our first baby that I actually started concentrating on trying to have children with her." he said, trying to get across the point that that first mistake had changed his life for the better.

"Oh..." Zim totally missed his point, now starting to have horrible thoughts about Dib losing the babies. His eyes became wide as he reached up out of habit to yank on his antennas.

Noticing this, Jack quickly reached out to stop him. "Woah, woah, woah, Zim. I'm not trying to make you worried over it. I'm just saying that sometimes things work our for the better when you don't plan them. I never would have realized that I was ready or even wanted kids at this point in my life if Rose hadn't gotten pregnant for the first time. And I'm certain Dib won't have any regrets over having these babies once they've been born. And I can tell just by looking at you that even though it wasn't on purpose, you're happy about having the opportunity to have children with Dib." he said, lowering Zim's hands back down to his sides.

His antennae drooping again, Zim sighed. "I-I am...But...I don't think Dib likes it..." he said, knowing how unhappy Dib was currently with the situation.

"Nobody likes being pregnant, Zim. Nobody likes putting up with all of its symptoms, at least. But that doesn't mean they regret it and would necessarily take it back if given the opportunity. I can tell you right now that Rose absolutely hates everything about being pregnant. But she doesn't regret it. Because she knows what it brings just like Dib knows what it will bring. If he didn't want the end result, then trust me, he probably would have already told you and tried to get out of it."

Sighing, Zim looked up at Jack. "I hope so..." he said before looking away again. "What if they hate us?" he then asked, throwing Jack slightly off guard.

Regaining his composure, Jack smiled back at Zim reassuringly. "Zim, if they hated us, they wouldn't be sticking around. They're both strong-willed people, and I know they'd both be long gone if they really hated us." he said, thinking Zim had been referring to Dib and Rose.

Zim shook his head. "I know Dib loves me...He wouldn't leave...But what about the smeets?" he rephrased his previous question.

"Hmm? You think the smeets would hate us?"

"Not you...But me...Or Dib...If they hated him, it would kill him."

Jack sighed. "Zim, they couldn't ever possibly hate you. You're their parents. They're going to love you no matter what. And besides, they're not even out of the womb yet. How could you think they would hate you?" he said, knowing Zim was exaggerating now.

"Well...They never calm down...Dib has trouble sleeping most of the time..."

"Hmm? Is that all? Well, what do you expect when you have three babies growing in an enclosed space? That's perfectly normal, Zim."

"...So, nothing's wrong then?"

Jack smiled at him again. "Of course not. They're probably just shifting into a more comfortable position whenever they move. And kicking is just something that all babies do when they're still in the womb...and sometimes even after they're born they continue to kick." he said, not wanting Zim to worry about it.

"Oh..." Zim blushed, feeling stupid now as he looked up at Dib and then back at Jack. "S-So are we ready to go get stuff?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"I think that's up to Dib and Rose." Jack said, looking back over at them as well.

Talking softly to Dib, Rose had by now at least managed to calm him down for the most part.

"Hey, you two. Are we planning on leaving anytime soon, or should Zim and I wait for you in the kitchen?"

From where she was talking with Dib, Rose looked up. "No, no...We're ready." she said, smiling before turning her attention to Dib and saying something in a quiet voice to him. She then gestured towards Zim and gave him a little push towards the Irken.

Eyes still wet and puffy, Dib glanced back at her before slowly making his way over to Zim, antennae drooping and gaze to the ground. Coming to stand right in front of the other, he then lifted his eyes slowly up to look back up at Zim after a moment and sniffle. "I'm sorry..." he apologized. "I-I-I didn't mean to hurt your feelings...or yell..." he said before instantly dropping his gaze back down to the ground, antennae drooping even more.

Wrapping his arms around Dib, Zim smiled and pulled him close. "It's okay, Dib." he kissed his cheek. "I love you." he sang out the words softly to the other.

Going to stand next to Rose, Jack grinned at the scene. "Well, it looks like everything worked out. Ready to go shopping, my dear?" he asked, holding his arm out for Rose.

Taking his arm, Rose smiled. "I believe we are." she said as Jack proceeded to lead her and the boys out into the garage.

"Heh...I still have yet to clean this car out." Jack said, letting go of Rose's arm to dig through it and pull out a few things so they wouldn't be so crowded in. "Alright. That should do." he said before opening the passenger door for Rose to climb in front with him then pulling open the back seat door for Zim and Dib.

A little nervous, Zim slid into the car seat next to Dib. He never had trusted these clunky human vehicles.

Starting up the car, Jack noticed this as he adjusted the mirrors and turned to look back at Zim. "Hey, are you okay, Zim? You look a bit pale." he said, not realizing this was Zim's first car ride.

"Hmm?" Dib's antennae perked as he turned to look at Zim, who was currently sitting very stiffly next to him. "You're not going to get sick on me, are you?" he asked, sending the other a concerned look now.

"N-No." Zim said a little uncertainly, still gripping the seat tightly, his eyes wide. "L-Let's just go, okay...?" he said, just wanting to get this car ride over with already.

Nodding his head at Zim's words, Jack put the car into reverse. "Alright. I'll drive as smoothly and carefully as possible." he said, opening the garage and backing his way down the driveway and onto the street.

Zim didn't lessen his grip on the seat however when he felt the vehicle beginning to move.

Noticing this, Dib reached out a hand to take Zim's, giving it a small, reassuring squeeze.

From the front seat, Rose tried to offer him some comforting words. "No need to worry, Zim. Jack is a very safe driver. He won't let anything bad happen to us." she tried to reassure him.

Gripping tightly to Dib's hand, Zim nodded at Rose's words, trying to ignore the rest of the car ride.

Deciding then that perhaps changing the subject would be a better approach to easing Zim's uncomfortableness, Rose tried to make idle conversation with them. "I-It certainly is a nice day for shopping, don't you think?" she asked, directing her question to either Dib or Zim in the back seat.

The summer sun shining brightly, Dib shifted his gaze to look out the window. "Y-Yeah..." he responded quietly as the car continued along its way.

Staying quiet, Zim could only nod, starting to feel like he might throw up.

"So...Is this the first time you two have gone shopping since Dib got pregnant?"

Looking over at Zim who was by now a very pale green, Dib considered requesting Jack to pull over the car so Zim wouldn't get sick in it. "Ummm...Yeah...We haven't done much shopping since then...In fact, we've hardly gotten out at all lately. We're basically living off of leftovers back at Zim's base." he said, not mentioning the fact that they hardly even left their bed nowadays.

"Oh, well that's no way to live."

"Yeah. You should come visit us more often. I'm a great cook."

"Heh...Well, we were planning on hopefully buying some healthier foods to eat so the smeets aren't living off of pure sugar and junk food...But I have a habit of pouring sugar on everything I eat nowadays. And Zim is kind of allergic to a lot of other foods. But I guess that would be nice, coming to eat with you guys. Maybe we'll start doing that every couple weeks or so."

"We'd like that." Rose smiled back at him.

"Hey, is Zim okay back there?"

"Err..." Dib glanced over at the Irken who was holding his stomach, eyes closed and antennae drooping down low. "To tell you the truth...H-He's looking pretty sick to me right now..." he said, his own antennae falling as he sent Zim a worried look of his own. "Y-You might want to pull over the car when you get the chance. He stuffed his face with waffles earlier this morning." he said, not wanting to risk Zim getting sick in Jack's car.

"Oh my." Rose covered her mouth, looking at Jack.

"Don't worry. We're almost at the mall."

Rubbing Zim's back soothingly with his free hand, Dib ran his thumb gently over the other's hand. "Hang in there, Zim...We're almost there..." he said in a quiet voice to the Irken, trying to ease his car sickness.

Refusing to talk in case just opening his mouth would cause him to spew, Zim sat stock still.

Looking up so he could get an idea of where they were in relation to the mall, Dib just continued to rub Zim's back gently. He could see it off in the distance, but they still had a ways to go, and he imagined it would take them at least a few minutes to find parking.

Doing his best to keep himself calm, Zim breathed slowly, knowing he could make it so long as nothing bad happened.

Glancing back at Zim and Dib momentarily, Jack then returned his gaze back to the road. "If you'd like, I could park the car and we could walk the rest of the way, Zim. It's not that far and parking will probably be hell over in the mall's parking lot." he offered.

Still not trusting himself to talk, Zim shook his head. He didn't want any of them to walk so far on his account.

"Are you sure, Zim? We wouldn't mind if you wanted to."

Jack sighed. "Forget I even mentioned it, Dib. We'll just park when we get there. If Zim doesn't want us to walk, then we won't." he said, knowing for a fact Zim wouldn't agree to parking.

Clinging tighter to the seat, Zim looked away from Dib.

Feeling horrible now for putting Zim through this, Dib's antennae drooped. "...I'm sorry...I wouldn't have made you come if I had known you get car sick..." he said in a whisper to the other, taking Zim's hand in both of his own and holding it close to his lap, his belly pressed against it as the smeets moved.

Closing his eyes to focus on the feel of his children moving inside Dib, Zim blushed.

In a soft voice, Dib whispered quiet words to him. "I think THEY want you to feel better too..." he said, tracing his fingers gently along the surface of Zim's hand.

Pushing his hand closer to Dib's belly, Zim smiled a little.

Smiling when Zim pressed his hand more up against his belly, Dib leaned up against the other a bit to nuzzle him affectionately. "This time they're kicking for you...and only you...I think if they had the choice, they'd even want to come out right now so they could give you lots of love..." he said softly.

Rubbing his belly gently, Zim nuzzled Dib back. "Love you..." he said in a weak voice.

Dib sent Zim his own small smile. "I love you too..." he said, placing his hand over the hand on his belly.

From her seat, Rose couldn't help but notice the small display of affection happening in the back seat. "Awww. You two are so cute!" she cooed happily, interrupting their moment and causing them both to blush.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 88. =3 Until next time~


	87. Chapter 89

ZADR Orange Chapter 89

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Still blushing, Zim held onto Dib, focusing on him until they made it to the mall.

Finally pulling the car into the parking lot, Jack, to his relief, found a parking spot quickly before turning off the engine. "Well, we made it. We're here." he said, turning around to smile back at them. "Are you ready to get going?" he then asked, already knowing Zim would be more than happy to just get out of that car.

Looking up as Jack said that, Dib nodded his head. "Yeah. I think Zim will be happy to get some fresh air now that we're here." he said, unbuckling himself from his seat and slowly sitting himself up straighter to climb out of the car with some difficulty due to his large belly.

Hopping out of the car, Zim slowly took a few wobbly steps before sinking to his knees and throwing up in the parking lot.

"Zim?!" Dib heard the other getting sick before seeing it as he toppled back into the seat after having some trouble pulling himself up. Sitting himself up quickly a second time though, he wiggled out of his seat so he could make his way over to the other's side and rub his back.

Looking over also, Jack and Rose sent each other worried looks and made their way over to where Zim and Dib were.

Hacking up the last of his breakfast, Zim then leaned back against Dib, his eyes closed. "I hate earth vehicles..." he shuddered.

A worried look on his face, Dib continued to look down at Zim. "A-Are you okay, Zim?" he asked, holding the other close, one of his hands traveling up to his forehead. "I'm sorry...I didn't want this to happen to you..." he apologized, feeling horrible now.

Kneeling down next to Zim and Dib, Jack offered to help Zim back up onto his feet. "Are you going to be okay to go shopping?" he asked, not wanting to push the Irken into doing so if he wasn't feeling well.

Rubbing his head, Zim took a deep breath. "Yeah. I'm fine...Just a little car sick is all...Come on." he said, attempting to stand up.

Jack slowly helped Zim back up onto his feet. "Well, alright...But don't push yourself too hard. If you need to sit down, tell us and we'll find you a bench to take a rest at." he said as Dib also got to his feet to help Zim.

Zim laughed a little. "We have two pregnant people with us, and you're telling ME not to push myself too hard?" he poked some fun at the sudden role reversal.

"Well, we're not the ones who just threw up our breakfasts in the parking lot, Zim." Dib said, holding up one of Zim's arms as they helped the still somewhat wobbly Irken towards the entrance to the mall.

"Perhaps we should head into one of the stores and get him something to take for his motion sickness."

"I'm fine. Honest. Let's just get Dib some clothes."

Dib sent him a worried look. "Will you at least take some before we leave today? I don't want to put you through that again." he said, knowing that if they took the car home later, the other would most certainly get sick again.

"I won't need it, Dib. I just won't eat while we're here. I'll be fine."

Looking a bit nervous about risking that, Dib sent Zim an almost pleading look as they finally entered the mall to look for the store Rose had told them about.

"Well, whether you eat or not, I agree with Dib that it would probably be best you took something before we get in the car again. After all, what harm could it do?"

"Please, Zim. Take it for me." Dib begged, just wanting to do whatever he could to prevent something like that from occurring again.

Zim sighed heavily. "Okay. I'll take it for you...But I'm telling you, I won't need it." he said, convinced he wouldn't get sick again on the way home.

"I don't care if you don't need it! It will just make me feel better knowing you won't have to go through that again..." Dib said, his antennae drooping.

"Alright. Alright." Zim sighed, hugging Dib loosely. "I'll get some, okay?" he promised, not wanting to upset Dib again.

Nodding his head slowly, Dib nuzzled into Zim's chest, antennae twitching.

Zim rubbed his back. "Ready for some shopping, oh killer whale of mine?" he asked, giggling and kissing Dib on the top of the head.

Pulling away from the other's shirt to blink up at him, Dib could only nod his head slowly before pouting a bit. He otherwise didn't argue with the other however, deciding it would be best they got the clothes before any of the other stores they needed to go to decided to close up for the day. He'd really hate to have to make a trip down there another day and risk the car ride.

"Alright. Our first stop is just a few stores down from here." Rose said, gesturing for them to follow her.

An arm wrapped around Dib tightly as they walked, Zim followed. "What will we be getting here?" he asked, curious as to what kind of clothes they sold.

"Oh, I was just planning on taking Dib into the men's section and looking around for some shirts he'll have more room to move around in. Though they might be a bit big on him at first. I want to leave some room for him to grow into more since I'm certain those smeets will be getting bigger in the next couple of months. But I also want the clothes to be somewhat slimming. You know, so nobody else can really tell he's pregnant just by glancing. Then I can head into the women's section and hopefully get him some pants that will stretch."

Squeezing Dib's side, Zim nodded. "That sounds good. And he won't get harassed for wearing female clothes." he said, not thinking it all that bad an idea.

Blushing a bit nonetheless at Zim's words, Dib continued to allow Zim to lead him along.

"He shouldn't. I'll try to find a pair of pants that don't look too feminine though. Perhaps they'll even have some black pants like the kind he's wearing right now." Rose said as she continued on ahead of them. "But I think it would be best we got him a few different pairs to wear so he's not confined to wearing only one pair throughout his entire pregnancy." she said, thinking it an easy enough task.

Laughing at Rose's words, Zim couldn't help but smirk a bit to himself. "You mean like he is now?" he asked, giving Dib's side a light poke.

Sinking down in his spot a bit, Dib's antennae drooped, his blush growing. It wasn't his fault he was down to only one pair of clothes. Staring down at the ground so neither Rose or Zim would notice his blush over the conversation, he followed closely to them until they had reached the entrance to the store.

"Well, we're here." Rose said, turning to smile back at them.

Turning to Dib, Zim grinned wide. "So what-Hey, what's wrong, Dib?" he asked when he saw the other's down-trodden face.

Shaking his head, Dib responded in a low voice. "...Nothing..." he said before pulling away from Zim to walk past them all into the store. Eyes still glued to the ground, he just wanted to get this over with already.

"Dib..." Zim sighed, jogging after him. "Come on, Dib. What's wrong? We're here for you." he said, nuzzling into the boy.

As Zim came up behind him, Dib looked back. "It's nothing...Really...Let's just get our shopping over with already." he said, pulling away from the Irken.

Zim sighed. "Dib, you don't have to be embarrassed..." he said, figuring that was what this was about.

"I'm not embarrassed!" Dib snapped back quickly, his blush flaring back up.

Zim pulled Dib into a tight hug. "It's alright, Dib...You can have anything you want, alright? Don't worry about the price." he said, about ready to offer Dib anything that would make him feel better.

Finding himself nuzzling his face back into Zim's chest, Dib could only let out a small whine. "Mmm...All I want is to sleep..." he said in a tired voice, using Zim for extra support.

Zim laughed a little. "Then let's get you some pj's first." he said, knowing Dib could use a pair of those.

"Mmm...Are you sure they'll even have some that will fit me...?" Dib mumbled into the other's shirt, his antennae falling back to rest against his head.

"Oh, Dib. Stop that. You're not that big."

"Yes, I aaaaam..." Dib whined again, not having the energy to lift his head and argue with the Irken anymore than that as he felt like sinking to the floor and just falling asleep now.

"No, you're NOT. So stop saying you are." Zim wrapped his arms around Dib and lifted him up bridal style. "If you were too fat, could I do this?" he asked, wanting to prove to Dib that he wasn't as big as he thought he was.

Dib didn't even respond to having the floor underneath him disappear suddenly. Rather than answering, he merely turned over in Zim's arms and curled up a bit, yawning tiredly as he began to doze off. He didn't even have it in him to argue with the other any longer.

Zim watched amused as Dib fell asleep. "Well, it looks like this is going to be a little harder now..." he said before carrying Dib back over to Jack and Rose and sighing. "He's tired..." he said, realizing Dib hadn't had the best night sleep the night before.

"Already? But we haven't even begun shopping yet. Didn't he get any sleep last night?" Rose asked, rather surprised Dib had tired himself out so quickly already.

Zim blushed. "Well...We slept for a while...Then umm...Yeah...And then the sun woke us up this morning on the couch..." he said, leaving out the part about what they had done BEFORE falling asleep there.

"The couch? Didn't you two go to bed last night in your bedroom through? I thought that's where you were taking Dib when we left."

"But he couldn't sleep...So we went upstairs..."

Rose sighed a bit. "Well, I guess there's only really one thing we can do at this point to wake him up." she said before turning to face Jack. "This probably isn't the best thing for the smeets, or Dib for that matter, but I'm thinking some caffeine should wake him up fairly quickly. Do you think you could go find a coffee shop somewhere in the mall and bring Dib back a small coffee, Jack. It might make him a bit jittery, but it should get him through the day." she said, reaching into her bag to pull out some money.

Zim cocked his head to the side. "What's coffee?" he asked, having never heard of it before. He only cared to spy on Dib, so anything the human wasn't into, he didn't know about.

"It's something that humans drink, usually for a little extra energy during the day. But it's mostly only drank by adults. It seems that as we get older, it becomes harder to find the energy to do certain things. So coffee is what most people turn to to get them through the day."

Zim nodded sadly. "So all adult humans lose their energy?" he asked, glancing at Dib, worried. "What about Dib...?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Rose smiled back at him. "Well, I can't say for sure what will happen to Dib when he gets older now that he's only half human. But I wouldn't worry too much about it right now, Zim. He's still pretty young. The only reason he's tired right now is because of the smeets. It's perfectly normal to get easily tired during pregnancy." she said, not wanting him to worry too much about it.

Still not feeling all that much better, Zim held Dib closer, kissing him gently.

"Tell me something, Zim. Do you think he'll age like a regular human now that you've changed his DNA? Or do you think he'll age more like your own species?"

Zim shook his head. "I don't know..." he admitted, holding Dib closer. "I-I hope like me...I don't want to lose him..." he said, not wanting to think about what things would be like were Dib to age more like a human.

"Well, how old are you right now? And how long does your species live anyways?" Rose asked, wanting to get a feel for how Irken's aged before giving her two cents on the matter.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 89. =3 Until next time~


	88. Chapter 90

ZADR Orange Chapter 90

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Blushing at Rose's question, Zim glanced at her before answering. "One hundred sixty-three earth years..." he sighed and clung to Dib tighter. "The oldest living Irken was only two-hundred and seventy...But we are a war-like race, after all..." he said, not really sure how long an Irken could hope to live without the interference of war.

Rose blinked her eyes open in some shock at that answer. "Oh, wow. You're already much older than most humans are. If they're lucky, a human can live up to 100 years of age, maybe a little older. But 80 is the average. Though I suppose the mentality must be different then. At what age are you considered to be an adult?" she asked.

"Ten Irken years...100 in earth years...Before then, we're stuck in training under the planet's surface..."

"So then your bodies age slower than human bodies too. Humans aren't really considered adults until 21 years of age. That might be helpful though in determining how Dib is aging now. Give him a few more years. If he looks to be about the same age as he is now when he turns 21, then he's probably aging slower and more like you. But if he looks like he's aging fairly quickly and there's a dramatic difference in how he looks at age 21, then he might be aging more like a human. Though, I'm not sure how his mentality has been affected in all this. Right now, he seems like a typical 16 year old boy. So in the meantime, I would recommend you just enjoy your time with him until you're able to determine his growth patterns from this point on. What's most important is that you two are happy together. And it's a bit hard to be happy if you're worrying about something that's still so far off."

Nodding his head, Zim sighed. "I know..." he said before taking a seat on the floor, finding Dib starting to make his arms weary. "He's so much heavier...How much more do you think he will grow?...I don't want him to hurt..." he said.

"Do you mean individually? Or how much more he will grow in terms of the pregnancy? Because I'm fairly certain those smeets still have quite a bit more growing to do before they're born. Humans carry for around 9 months."

Tugging at his antennas, Zim whined and nearly slapped himself as he pulled his wig out of his PAK and placed it on his head. "There are too many for him..." he said.

"Zim, you have to try and stay strong for Dib. I know that it seems impossible, but trust me, it has been done before. Humans are perfectly capable of giving birth to 2, 3, and sometimes more babies in one pregnancy. And Dib is a strong individual. He'll pull through this."

Stroking Dib's hair, Zim nodded and pet back his antennas. "I hope so..." he said.

"Zim, you can't just hope so. You need to have confidence that he can do this. Otherwise, he won't have confidence in himself that he can do it and there will be more chances of complications arising. You just need to keep reminding yourself of how strong he is. Keep telling yourself that he can do this. I'm not saying it will be easy, but it is possible. And I can't think of anyone else who could probably pull this off better than Dib."

Zim looked up at her sadly. "B-But if something happens...If anything goes wrong...I might lose him...And it would be all my fault." he said

Rose sighed. "I know you're scared about losing him, Zim. Scared that something might go wrong...But what more can you do at this point? You can't take it back, so the best thing for both of you to do would be to stay positive and prepare as much as physically possible for the birth. The more you do, the less likely anything will go wrong. And you know Jack and I will help you as much as you need." she said.

Zim nodded. "I know..." he said before remembering the book they brought with them and pulling it out. "Will this help?" he asked.

Blinking down at the book, Rose reached down to take it before giving it a good look over. "Well, it's a good start." she said, flipping through a few of the pages.

"Dib wanted us to be prepared...We don't really know what comes with multiple smeets..."

"Well, this should help you get an idea of what's in store for you two. But I think it would be best that Jack and I signed you up for a class that deals with actually putting the concepts in this book to action. It's no good to just read about it. You need to physically and mentally prepare yourselves. And we'll probably sign you up for a class that will deal with the actual delivery process once Dib gets closer to his due date."

Petting Dib, Zim nodded. "Okay. Anything to help..." he said.

Handing back the book to Zim, Rose smiled. "You know, there are plenty of other ways you guys can prepare. I assume you have a computer, so I would recommend going online and reading up on it there too. Sometimes it's more helpful when you can look at other people's pregnancy stories. And you may even pick up a few home remedies for dealing with Dib's pregnancy symptoms." she said.

"Okay...Thank y-"

"Got it!" Jack ran back to the three, carrying a VERY sweetened ice coffee. "I hope he likes it cold." he said.

Taking the cup from Jack, Rose smiled at him. "Cold should be fine just so long as it has caffeine in it." she said before turning back to Zim. "Alright, Zim. Can you sit him up and try to wake him up enough to take this?" she asked, kneeling down near them.

Propping Dib up, Zim nodded and began shaking him a bit to make him wake back up. "Come on, Dib-love~" he said.

Letting out a small whine when Zim gave him a shake, Dib turned over in his sleep and pressed himself up against the Irken's chest. "Mmm..." he sounded out, not ready to wake up yet.

"Come on, Dib. You need to wake up. You can sleep more when we get home, okay?"

Antennae twitching, Dib yawned before blinking his eyes slowly open, his eyelids still drooping from how tired he was. "...But I'm so tired..." he murmured against the other's shirt, reluctant to be moved.

"Come on, Dib. This will wake you up. " Rose said, reaching out to sit him up enough to take the cup from her. "Just drink this and you should start to feel better, okay?" she said, helping him lift the cup of coffee up to his lips to drink.

Watching intently as Dib took the cup and took a few sips from it, Zim twitched his antennae forward curiously, waiting for some kind of drastic reaction from the other.

"I know you like sweet, so I had them add a lot of sugar and caramel flavoring."

Placing the cup back down on the floor after he had gotten through about half of it, Dib shuddered, his antennae drooping as he leaned back in to press against Zim. "I'm still tired..." he said.

"Well, it may take a few minutes to kick in."

"Yeah...I also had them add an extra shot of espresso..."

Just continuing to shiver from head to toe in Zim's arms for a few minutes longer, Dib finally seemed to perk just a bit after several long minutes of waiting, his antennae lifting. "O-Okay...I-I can't sit here any l-longer..." he said in a jittery voice, tired but feeling as though he couldn't sit in one spot for any longer as the caffeine started to take its effects on him.

Watching as Dib proceeded to hop out of his lap, very jittery, Zim's eyes widened. "Is this normal?" he asked.

"Weeeell...It's normal for somebody who doesn't take caffeine in on a regular basis." Rose said, looking over at Dib who was by now pacing back and forth, arms hugged about himself. "It's a highly addictive substance. But he should be fine in a little while. This is why I asked Jack to only get him a SMALL cup of coffee." she said.

Jack blushed. "Well, it WAS a small cup..." he said.

Rolling her eyes, Rose sighed. "Let's just get started shopping already before it wears off and Dib feels like falling off to sleep again." she said, handing Jack the still half-full cup of coffee so she could take Dib by the arm and lead him back into the store with her. "Don't throw that coffee out, Jack. I want to have it with us just in case Dib falls asleep again in the middle of our shopping trip. Come on, Dib. Let's get you those new clothes I promised you." she said.

Glancing at the leaving Rose and Dib, Zim then glanced back at Jack. "Maybe they can do this better then we can..." he said.

"Well, Rose can at least. But women are always better at shopping than men are. It's like they're born to shop. And they're always so much pickier about what they buy then men are. In general, we just prefer to buy things that are comfortable and do their job regardless of how they look. But women tend to buy things that only look good and are cheap, regardless of whether their comfortable or even functional for that matter." Jack sighed out a bit, knowing Rose was by now probably putting Dib through hell on earth.

Zim laughed loudly. "That is just how females are back on Irk. They would prefer to look good and have the next best thing rather than wear anything comfortable or with a proper function. Of course, most of the females I've met haven't had a choice to wear what they want what with there being a standard uniform for invaders. But they still complain about it." he said.

Jack smirked a bit. "Heh...Guess it doesn't matter where you are in the universe. Females will be females. And I suppose males will be males. I just hope Rose isn't rotting Dib's brain in there." he said, letting out another amused noise. "Though, I suppose Rose isn't as bad as some other females can be. I just smile and nod whenever she decides to take me out shopping anywhere with her. And she DOES do a pretty good job of picking out things that will at least be useful." he said.

Zim grinned wide. "Too bad it's only me and Dib then...Looks like we don't have a female to shop for us. Unless you wouldn't mind lending Rose to us every once in a while." he said.

Jack laughed out loud a bit. "Feel free to take her whenever you need to. She loves shopping for other people when given the chance. In fact, if I know her, she's probably dragging Dib around that store like a dress up doll right now and having him try on every single outfit in there that he can fit into." he said.

Leaning on Jack for support, Zim laughed louder. "Oh poor Dib!" he exclaimed.

Jack snickered into his hands a bit. "If I weren't so afraid Rose were going to make us dress up in different outfits too, I'd suggest we go in there just to watch. I just hope she's actually letting him get dressed on his own though and not just dragging him into a dressing room with her to try new clothes on. Though, knowing her, she probably is." he said.

Zim snickered a little. "Poor Dib. He wouldn't like that. He is very shy, after all." he said.

"Well, I think Rose loses sight of that once she starts shopping. Besides, since she loves children so much and we've had such a hard time having any of our own, I think from the time she met Dib, she almost saw him as though he were the child she never had. I can see it in her. It's almost like her more motherly nature comes out whenever she's around him."

Zim nodded. "Yeah...I can tell she treats him much differently then she does you and me." he said.

"It's because he's still just a kid. She worries about him, thinks he's insecure. But I keep on telling her that that's just how teenagers are and that he'll more than likely grow out of it eventually. It's almost like she's forgotten about how we were as teens."

Shaking his head, Zim sighed. "But Dib IS different...He's not fully human anymore...And his parental unit was always very mentally and emotionally abusive...He kicked both Dib AND his evil, physically abusive sister out of the house...And now he's pregnant..."

"I know...Dib told us all this when we first met him. He's been through a lot, and we can't blame him for being so insecure about everything. But so long as he has us to support him, we're hoping he'll slowly start to grow out of those insecurities as he gets older. Even if is DOES take him a while to recover, he WILL recover in time. We just can't push him too hard. It will happen naturally, and we're certain he'll go on to live a perfectly normal life."

Zim smiled a little. "Or as normal as he can with me around..."

"Or as normal as he can with you around..." Jack repeated before looking back towards the door to the store. "I just hope this shopping trip doesn't add any more stress onto his already mentally abused mind." he joked a bit.

Meanwhile, inside the store, Rose approached Dib with yet another shirt she had found. "Oh, this is cute! What do you think, Dib?" she asked, holding up a nice dress shirt to him.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 90. =3 Until next time~


	89. Chapter 91

ZADR Orange Chapter 91

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

A bit flustered by all of Rose's questions, Dib could only blink at the shirt she was holding up to him. "U-Ummm...I-I guess..." he said. Rose really had been dragging him back and forth, making him try things on, something he wasn't very used to. And he couldn't say he had any idea whatsoever to say back to her. To say the very least, he had hardly even ever had any reason to go out shopping for clothes in the past. To his knowledge, his clothes had always fit him up until this point in time. So being asked all these questions about something he really could care less about was putting him on edge a bit. He had at least hoped Zim or Jack would come in with him rather than leaving him to deal with Rose all on his own.

"Oh, come on, Dib. You have to tell me whether you like things or not. Otherwise we'll never be able to get you what you want."

"But I don't KNOW what I want." Dib whined a bit. "Can't I get a second opinion in here?" he asked, wanting at least Zim to be in there with him. After all, he figured it was the Irken who was going to be looking at him the majority of the time he wore these clothes. Not himself. So he might as well get something Zim would like to see him in.

Rose sighed. "Do you want Zim?" she asked.

Eyes dropping down to the ground, Dib nodded his head slowly, antennae drooping a bit. He didn't mean to be so difficult with her, but he really felt as though he just needed SOMEBODY else in the room with him to help him decide. "I-I'm sorry...I'm not very good at this though..." he said, blushing a bright red.

Sighing, Rose then smiled. "It's okay, Dib. Come on. Let's get Zim." she said, wrapping an arm around Dib and walking back out to the boys with him.

Letting her lead him back to the front door to the store, Dib watched as she popped her head out to talk with them.

"Hey, you two. Dib is having a hard time deciding on what to get. Do you think you could come in here and help him, Zim? He says he wants a second opinion." Rose said as Dib stood behind her, fidgeting nervously in his spot.

Glancing at Jack, worried, Zim blushed.

Jack laughed. "Go ahead. He needs you. Rose isn't THAT bad." he said.

Nodding his head, Zim then smiled. "Of course not. Coming, Dib-love!" he said.

Meanwhile, Rose couldn't help but send Jack a rather unimpressed look for his comment. "Actually, Jack. You better come in here too. I think Dib could use a third opinion." she said, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him in behind her. Zim and Dib followed behind at a safe distance.

While he didn't mean to get Zim or Jack into trouble with Rose, Dib sighed in relief nonetheless at no longer having to face her alone.

Nuzzling into Dib, oblivious to his troubles, Zim smiled as he walked with Dib back towards the changing rooms. "So, what do you need Zim's opinion on?" he asked.

His body trembling slightly, Dib could only stiffen a bit at the question. "Everything!" he sent Zim a truly terrified look. He hadn't imagined that shopping with Rose would turn out to be so stressful. But it was, and as nice as she was, she was a little intimidating whenever she asked for his personal opinion on something. Because just saying he wanted something comfortable to wear wasn't enough in her book.

Eyes widening in a bit of fear, Zim then smiled weakly and hugged him close. "It's okay, Dib. Come on. Zim shall help." he said.

Clinging to one of Zim's arms as though for protection, Dib calmed just a bit at the hug and let his eyelids slip partially closed again. "...Okay..." he said in a quiet voice, his antennae falling back more to a more comfortable position on his head. "Just let her know what you think will look good on me. Otherwise she'll drag me into another changing room and make me try it all on again..." he said, shuddering a bit at the memory.

Zim laughed a little. "What if I want to see you modeling your new clothes?" he asked.

"I don't mind trying them on again just so long as Rose lets me get them on myself." Dib blushed.

Zim smiled. "Well, if you need help, Zim is here." he said.

Finally letting his eyes slip back closed, Dib sighed out gently. "I know...J-Just don't let Rose come in while I'm changing..." he said, going to rest his head against the other's shoulder as they walked.

"I won't. Now, what were you looking at before?"

"Well, for starters, she brought me to look through the shirts after picking out a few pairs of pants she wanted me to try on. Then she said she wanted to try and help me find at least a night shirt to wear at night to sleep in. But I was kind of being difficult with her about the shirts. Because I don't know what it is I want to wear. I've been wearing the same shirts for years, and I really like them, so it's kind of hard to just pick out new shirts to wear."

Zim smiled. "Then why don't we just get you some shirts like your old ones?" he asked.

"Hm? I'm not so sure they make them anymore. That's why I'm hoping this weight will drop off quickly after the smeets are born. So I can wear my old shirts again. Besides, I think Rose had something else in mind for me to wear. She said she wanted to find something that would make me look "slim." That way people can't tell I'm pregnant."

Zim nodded. "I guess that would be a good idea. What was she showing you?" he asked.

"Mostly just a bunch of dress shirts and T-shirts with abstract designs on them. She did find me one shirt that kind of reminds me of your uniform top, but it's blue, and the stripes are thicker. And I guess she figured out I like space, so she picked out a few darker colored shirts with stars and other spacey type designs on them."

"Well, they sound nice. How do you like them? And how do they fit on you?"

"Weeell...I guess they're okay...I-I don't really care how they look just so long as they're comfortable. But Rose keeps on asking me what I think of them and I don't know how to respond. So I thought, you know, that you could tell me what you think of them...B-Because you're the one who's going to be looking at me in them...A-And I guess they fit me alright...She got me a size bigger than my size right now because she thinks I'm going to grow into them more. But the pants are kind of uncomfortable. They don't come up any higher than my hips, but she says that's how they're supposed to be."

"Well, with the smeets, you probably wouldn't want to get pants that come up any higher anyways. And we can always get you more later." Zim kissed him. "If you think the shirts are comfortable though then let's just go ahead and get them." he said.

"W-Well, why don't you have a look through them with Rose first. I want you to like them too. A-And that's kind of why I even asked for you in the first place. She wanted to go through a pile of them and have me pick out the ones I liked the most. But they all pretty much fit the same, so I couldn't pick which I liked the best. And we still haven't picked out any pajamas...err...a night shirt yet."

Zim sighed. "Alright. Alright. Let me see them." he said.

Nodding his head, Dib led Zim over to the pile of clothes Rose had picked out for him to try on. "U-Umm...D-Do you want me to try them on again so you can get an idea of how I look in them?" he asked Zim once they were standing right outside the dressing room they had left the clothes at.

Zim smiled. "Sure." he said.

Dropping his gaze down to the ground, Dib blushed a bit before picking up a pair of pants Rose had brought him along with one of the shirts to change into really quickly so Zim could get an idea how they looked on him. After a few minutes, he then walked back out of the changing room with his new outfit on.

Blushing at how Dib looked upon exiting the changing room, Zim looked away to the side and slumped in his seat a bit.

Dib could only blink at Zim's reaction when he came out. "Hmm? So you don't like it?" he asked, antennae drooping before perking a bit again as he turned to the side to look at himself in a mirror they had placed outside the dressing room. He turned this way and that to try and get an idea of how it looked on him from all sides.

"No, no. It looks nice."

Not so sure he actually believed the other's words, Dib glanced back at Zim after a moment or two of looking himself over. "You know, if you don't like it, you can just say so already!" he exclaimed, getting frustrated with the other's half-assed response to how he looked in the outfit, especially since it was Zim's opinion rather than his own that he truly cared about at this point.

"I like it, alright?!" Zim exclaimed right on back before standing up and walking over to him. "It's just odd seeing you in anything other than your normal clothing. You know, everything you used to wear was exactly the same." he said.

Dropping his gaze back down to the ground, Dib's antennae drooped. "But you wish I didn't have to change them either, right?" he sighed. "I know I need new clothes, but I don't really like them all that much..." he said.

Zim blushed more. "A-Actually..." he leaned in closer. "I think you look kind of sexy." he smiled a little, stealing a kiss.

Blushing also, Dib blinked wide eyes open at the other. "You do?" he asked before looking back down at himself, trying to see what the other saw in them that made him look sexy.

Wrapping his arms around him, Zim kissed him again. "Yes, I do..." he said.

Cheeks flaring up a bright pink color, Dib shifted his eyes to the left and then the right to look around before bringing his gaze back to look at Zim again. "D-Does that mean you want me to try the other clothes on too then?" he asked.

Zim nodded. "If you're willing to." he said.

"O-Okay..." Dib pulled away to head back into the dressing room so he could change into the shirt he had told Zim about earlier that looked like the Irken's uniform top.

Meanwhile, Zim waited patiently for Dib to finish.

After a minute or two of struggling to pull the shirt on, Dib finally managed to pull it over his head and smooth it out before exiting to find Zim waiting for him patiently. "O-Okay...What do you think?" he asked, turning about so Zim could see him from all sides before responding.

Pulling Dib into a deep kiss, Zim slowly grinned wide. "I like it." he said.

Blushing shyly once Zim had broken the kiss with him, Dib played around with his fingers as Zim held him close. "O-Oh...W-Well, I guess I'm glad then." he fixed his gaze on the ground below, a small smile tugging at his lips as his antennae twitched almost happily.

Zim nuzzled him happily. "If the rest fit the same, I don't think it would matter if you try them on or not. We'll just get them all." he said.

"A-Are you sure? I-I'm not really sure how much they'd all cos-" Dib began but got cut off by Rose who approached them excitedly with another article of clothing in hand.

"Oh, Dib! I found the cutest pajama top for you to try on!" Rose exclaimed, holding it out for them both to see before turning to face Zim. "Don't you think this would look so cute on Dib, Zim?!" she smiled wide, holding up what looked to be a night shirt only with some kind of bunny ear hood on it.

Covering his mouth, Zim snorted a little. "I never thought Dib to be the bunny kind. Are there any others?" he asked.

Rose sighed. "Well, there are a few other ones. But I really do think this one would look the cutest on Dib. The ears kind of remind me of his antennae." she said, flapping the ears around like they were his antennae. "And I get the feeling they would keep them warm too." she said, trying to persuade Zim into giving the bunny hood a chance.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 91. =3 Now allow me to answer reviews really quickly before updating the rest of the next set.

To lillybean queen of the i ocean : Hello, once again, and thank you for reviewing. Gonna keep things brief this time around, but I'm glad to hear you're still enjoying the story, as always. ^^ Much love to you for reviewing, and I look forward to hearing from you again soon. Until next time~ =3


	90. Chapter 92

ZADR Orange Chapter 92

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Eyes widening at Rose's words, Zim seemed to seriously consider them for a moment before smiling to himself. "Oh, hey! That's right!" he grinned wide and glanced at Dib. "Well, go ahead and try it on." he said, taking the bunny shirt from Rose and pushing it towards Dib.

"Wh-What?!" Dib blushed a bright red now, looking at Zim as though he were crazy for agreeing with her. "Zim, are you cra-" he got cut off as Rose happily grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the changing room with her to have him try it on. Then, after several minutes of struggling with him to put it on, Rose pulled Dib out of the dressing room wearing the pajama top.

Giggling a little, Zim grinned wider then he ever had. "I like it." he said.

A few other customers looking their way just to giggle themselves at the funny looking outfit, Dib was at this point too horribly embarrassed to even respond.

Leaning in, Zim kissed him. "Is it comfortable?" he asked.

Blushing shyly as he wasn't sure how to respond, Dib could only pull back at the kiss. Comfortable or not, it was absolutely the most embarrassing piece of clothing he had ever been forced to wear. His cheeks heated up even more.

Zim ran a hand over the fabric. "Oh, it's soft." he said.

Rose smiled wide also. "Oh, I know! It was the softest thing I could find for him to wear. I wanted him to be comfortable at night so he might be able to get a better night's sleep." she said.

"How about it, Dib? It's not like anyone but ZIM is going to see you in it."

"I-If I say yes, will you let me change out of it already?!" Dib struggled to pull away from Rose, who had been holding him by the arm this entire time, preventing him from going anywhere.

Smiling, Zim nodded. "Of course." he said.

Finally letting go of Dib's arm, allowing Dib the chance the escape back into the changing room so he could pull it off and climb back into his original clothes, Rose clapped her hands together happily.

A few minutes passed before Dib finally returned and dropped the shirt into the pile of clothes already there, blushing and unable to lift his gaze up from the ground at this point.

Zim wrapped an arm around Dib. "Oh, cheer up, Dib-love. Now we can go look at stuff for the smeets." he said.

Not in the mood to have the other anywhere near him, Dib could only stiffen at Zim's touch before brushing the other's arm away from him to walk towards the exit of the store. He just wanted to leave and go home at this point.

"Dib?" Zim followed him. "Dib, what's wrong? Don't you want to pick out things?" he asked.

"Just leave me alone...I want to go home. You and Rose can pick out things for the smeets if you want..." Dib said, obviously upset as he set out to locate Jack so he could ask for a ride home, arms wrapped around himself.

"Dib, please. I wasn't trying to upset you. I don't know what to pick out. They're your smeets too!"

"I said to leave me alone, Zim! I don't want to be here, and I don't want to pick out things for the smeets! All I want is to go home! If you're really so goddamn clueless about what to get, then just have Rose pick things out for you since you seem so eager to agree with everything she thinks we should get!" Dib screamed at the other, his temper having by now boiled over to a dangerous level.

Watching wide-eyed, Zim froze. "Eh, but..." he began to say.

"I don't want to hear it!" Dib grabbed his own antennae and tugged them down to block the other's words out. "I don't...I don't want to hear it..." he said, backing away from the Irken more, body trembling.

"Dib, stop!" Zim grabbed Dib and pulled him back towards him before he could crash into a group of people who were walking by. "Listen to me, you! I'm doing the best I can! If you don't want something then SAY SO!" he exclaimed.

Panicking, Dib could only flinch back at the other's yelling. "Don't touch me!" he screamed before punching the Irken hard in the jaw to make him let go. He stumbled back unsteadily. It wasn't until he saw Zim on the ground that he realized what he had just done to the other, however. Staring down at the disguised alien with fear in his eyes, he didn't even wait around for a response from the other before taking off into the crowd, disappearing among the crowds of busy shoppers.

Meanwhile, eyes wide, Zim laid on the floor, his jaw throbbing. He didn't even move from that spot nor did he see Dib running away as he just laid there. 'Dib...' he thought before letting his eyes droop, still just laying there in silence.

Carrying a bag with all the clothes they had just bought for Dib in it, Rose exited the store happily with Jack.

Looking around for Zim and Dib, Jack's eyes grew wide when he noticed Zim laying flat on his back in the middle of the mall's floor. "Z-Zim? Zim!" he ran over to the fallen Irken and helped to prop him up. "What happened? Where's Dib?" he asked.

Following Jack, Rose came up behind him to see if Zim was okay. "Zim, are you okay?" she asked, eyes widening when she realized he was bleeding. "Oh, God. He's bleeding, Jack." she said in a panic, kneeling down and pulling out a tissue to wipe away some of the blood."Tell us what happened, Zim" she said.

"I was an ass..."Zim sighed heavily and pushed Rose's tissue away.

"What?" Rose pulled her hand away. "Oh, no. Don't say that, Zim. You are not an ass. Now just explained to us what happened, okay?" she said

Zim sighed heavily. "He hates me again...He said he wanted to go home...That you could just pick out everything because I wouldn't listen to anyone but you..." he said, shaking his head sadly.

"What? But I didn't think he WANTED to pick out his own clothes. If he hadn't wanted something I picked out for him, he should have just said so himself in the first place. I wasn't trying to make him think I would pick out everything for him. We were planning on taking you two to the baby store next so the two of you could pick out what you wanted to get for the smeets together. Not what I think you should get."

"I know! But he wouldn't listen to me..." Zim put his head in his hands. "Did you buy the bunny shirt?" he asked.

Pulling the bag up, Rose pulled it out. "I'm afraid so..." she said, holding it up for Zim to see. "But I'm not going to force him to wear it if he really doesn't want to. I just wanted to see it on him once." she said.

Staring at it, Zim slowly thought something up. "They had other animals, right? Show me." he said.

"Well...Okay..." Rose led him over to where she had found the shirt.

Examining all the different animals, Zim finally pulled out one of a frog. Then, digging a little deeper, he found a matching pair of pajama pants for both the bunny and the frog shirts. Carrying them to the checkout lane, he bought them and then stuffed them into the bag. "Come on. We have to find Dib..." he said.

"O-Okay..." Rose followed behind him, sending Jack a slightly confused look.

"Do you want me to look for him on my own so the search will go faster? I could call you if I find him, or Rose can call me if you guys find him first."

Zim nodded. "Good idea. You look at the park and near your house. We'll check with Gaz and at our house." he said.

"You don't want to check the mall first? I highly doubt Dib could have gotten THAT far in his current condition."

Zim blushed. "O-Oh...Right...You go that way, and we'll go this way." he said.

Jack nodded his head. "Alright. I'm going to check the bathrooms on my end. The food court is in the direction you're going, so you might want to try checking there first." he said.

"Okay. Come on, Rose." Zim grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the food court.

Watching as they left, Jack then headed for the bathrooms to see if maybe Dib had locked himself inside one of the stalls.

QQQ

Meanwhile, with Zim and Rose, Rose eyed Zim curiously before speaking up to ask him a question. "Wh-What are you planning on doing with those frog pajamas you bought?" she asked, curious as to why Zim had bought them, especially since Dib hadn't liked the first pair they had gotten for him back at the store.

"If I wear them too, Dib won't be as embarrassed." Zim stated as if it were obvious. "A-And I didn't want to return his because he looked so cute in them..." he said.

Rose smiled. "He did look awfully cute in them. And I think that's a good idea. I'll bet the frog pajamas will look pretty cute on you too. He'll probably like that about them." she said.

Blushing, Zim's eyes widened. "W-Well, Zim is not a furry rodent." he pouted and faced forward again, looking for Dib.

Rose couldn't help but let out a slightly amused sound. "So I take it that's why you chose the frog pajamas. I think they'll suit you." she said before returning her attention to back in front of herself also to continue searching for Dib.

QQQ

Meanwhile, Jack entered the first bathroom he found. "Dib? Dib. Are you in here?" he began checking the stalls.

QQQ

Reaching the food court, Zim started weaving through the people in search of his Dib, looking for black, scythe hair, antennas, and a big belly.

Checking the stands selling food, Rose asked the people behind them whether they might have seen Dib.

QQQ

Back with Jack, after having no luck finding Dib in the first bathroom, Jack headed back out to search another bathroom a few stores down.

Entering the second bathroom to check for Dib, Jack this time had more luck when he heard soft whimpers coming from one of the stalls in the very back of the bathroom. "Dib?" he called out as he made his way down the rows of stalls to one that was somewhat hidden in the back. "Dib, it's Jack. Is that you in there?" he asked, knocking on the door lightly.

QQQ

Zim met back up with Rose. "I can't find him anywhere..." he said.

"Me neither..." Rose sighed. "Where could he have disappeared to?" she asked right before her phone went off. "Oh, there's Jack! Maybe he found Dib." she said, picking it up quickly. "Hello?" she asked.

On the other end, Jack was kneeling down inside the stall with a sick Dib, rubbing his back gently with one hand and holding his phone to his ear with the other as Dib was busy hanging over the toilet seat. "I found him." he said.

Gasping, Rose turned to Zim. "He found him!" she exclaimed.

Zim's eyes widened. "Where?!" he asked.

"Where are you?"

"I'm in one of the bathrooms with him. He's hanging over the toilet right now tossing his cookies." Jack informed her, continuing to rub up and down Dib's back comfortingly.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 92. =3 Until next time~


	91. Chapter 93

ZADR Orange Chapter 93

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Hearing Jack's words, Rose's face became one of concern. "Oh no. We'll be right over." she responded back to Jack.

"Well, where are they?!"

"In one of the bathrooms. Dib is throwing up."

"Alright. We'll be waiting for you." Jack said before ending the call by closing his phone and returning it to his pocket. As Dib continued to throw up, he couldn't help but glance over, noticing that a lot of what was in the toilet looked to be blood.

Jack waited until Dib had finally stopped throwing up long enough to ask him whether he had hurt himself. "Dib! Dib, did something happen to you after you ran off?! You're bleeding!" he exclaimed as he continued to rub the panting hybrid's back.

Dib was by this point crying too hard to answer Jack's question.

Jack, rather than waiting for a response from the hybrid, carried him out of the bathroom after flushing the toilet. "Come on, Dib. Zim and Rose are on their way over here right now." he said.

QQQ

Meanwhile, checking every bathroom he came to, Zim rushed with Rose following a little ways behind towards the side of the mall Jack had gone to.

Smashing into a bathroom, Zim growled as it was once again the wrong one.

Rose panted. "Zim, calm down. Jack won't let Dib run away. There's no rush." she said.

"Yes, there is! He'll hate me more if I don't hurry!"

"No, he won't, Zim! You need to calm down and slow down otherwise you'll end up giving both Dib AND Jack a heart attack barging in like that! So just take a deep breath and slow down already!" Rose sent him an all too serious look, not too happy about having to run around herself with the baby weighing her down.

Bouncing in place a little, Zim whined. "But the longer I'm away, the more he'll think I don't want to be with him!" he exclaimed.

"Zim! He's not going to think that! He was just upset because he was feeling sick! And I don't think you barging into the bathroom like a maniac is going to make him feel any better! Just calm down and we'll find them quickly enough."

Ditching his wig to tug harshly at his antennas, Zim whined again.

"There you guys are."

Gasping, Zim ran over to Jack when the other called out to them, looking worried. "Dib? Dib, are you okay?" he asked.

"He'll be alright." Jack said, handing the crying Dib to Zim.

Taking Dib, Zim held him close and nuzzled him gently. "What's wrong, Dib-love?" he asked, softly kissing him. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

Clinging to the Irken, Dib wrapped his arms around Zim and sobbed into his chest.

"Oh, Dib. Please tell me..."

"You're the one who's hurting because of me!" Dib cried into the other's chest, feeling absolutely horrible about what had happened earlier.

"What? No." Zim kissed Dib again. "There is nothing wrong with Zim. Now, what is wrong with you?" he asked.

"He was throwing up blood in the bathroom when I found him."

Zim's eyes widened. "Dib?! What happened?! Are you sick?! Are the smeets injured?! Did someone hit you?! Tell Zim!" he exclaimed.

His antennae drooping, Dib flinched back a bit at all the yelling. All the screaming and panicking was only serving to make him feel sick again. "I-I just bit my tongue..." his voice came out shaky.

"Oh..." Zim held him tighter. "Is it okay now?" he asked.

"I think I'm going to throw up again..."Dib began sobbing again into the other's chest.

"Maybe we should sit down for a while and let Dib calm back down."

Nodding, Zim nuzzled him and carried him over to a rest area nearby where they could take a seat on one of the fluffy couches.

Allowing him to curl back up into his lap, Dib coughed hoarsely as Zim took a seat. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." he apologized repeatedly in an upset voice as Rose and Jack took seats on either side of them.

Reaching out, Rose played with his hair. "Shhh...Calm down, Dib. Nobody is mad at you. Right, Zim?" she said.

"But I punched him!" Dib exploded back into tears, hiding his face in Zim's lap, antennae shuddering.

"It's okay, Dib. I deserved it..." Zim kissed him repeatedly, trying to calm him down.

Dib could only get more upset, however. "No, you didn't! You didn't deserve to have me punch you like that! I don't even know why I punched you in the first place! The only person here who deserves to be punched is me because of what an ass I've been to you all day! Because of what an ass I've been to you this entire pregnancy!" he exclaimed.

Zim sighed. "It's not like I've been helping very much..." he said.

"You're wrong! You've done everything for me! Every last thing I've asked you to do, you've done without questioning! I don't even think I would have made it this far in the pregnancy without going insane if you hadn't been there! But I just keep throwing it back in your face and hurting you!"

Staring at Dib sadly for his words, Zim pulled him even closer. "Noooo...Noo, Dib..." he kissed him again. "It's okay. Shhhh..." he rocked Dib back and forth gently. "It's not your fault." he tried to reassure the other of that.

"No, it's not okay! Because it IS my fault! Who else's would it be?!"

"Hormones..." Zim smiled and lifted Dib's head up, kissing him on the lips. "...and myself. It's my fault you're pregnant in the first place, after all." he said.

"But you didn't do it on purpose. You didn't even know it was possible. So I can't blame you for it. It's not your fault...And it's not your fault I've been acting like such a jerk..." Dib sniffled wetly, only calming down slightly.

"But it's not your fault either, Dib." Zim smiled.

"Yes, it iiiis..." Dib whined, returning his face to Zim's lap. "Yelling at you does nobody any good and yet I keep on doing it...And I don't understand why you continue to stay with me...Why you want to stay with somebody who hurts you constantly and probably won't even make a good mother to these smeets in the end anyways..." he said.

Zim sighed. "Dib, you're not hurting me...You hurt me more when you didn't know how I felt about you...You're the best thing that ever happened to Zim...And you will be a GREAT mother." he said.

Eyes half lidded as the life seemed to drain out of him now, Dib just continued to sniffle wetly. "...I don't think they'll like me...I'm already doing a bad job taking care of them, and they're not even born yet..." he said.

Zim held Dib close. "Dib, you've done nothing wrong." he said.

"I just wish...I wish I weren't so bad at this..." Dib turned his head slightly to rest his cheek against Zim's leg.

Zim sighed. "I wish I was better at this too..." he said.

"B-But you're already so good at it...You take care of them a-and me...And whenever they're upset, you kiss them and calm them down...A-And you spoil them even though they're not out of the womb yet...A-And...And...You just do everything every good father should do for their kids..."

Zim's antennae drooped. "But I don't...I get them riled up in the first place by making them upset. I scream and shout at you when you act up, making you more upset then you should be..." he said.

"But that makes it my fault they get upset! You're not yelling at them! You're yelling at me because of the stupid things I do! But then you do everything you can to calm them down...If that's not being a good father, then I don't know what is..."

Zim sighed. "But you don't...Your father was terrible...You don't know what a good one is like..." he said.

Dropping his eyes back down to the floor, Dib's antennae drooped. "That might be so...But you must be better than him if you're doing everything for them that I wish my dad had even ever considered doing for Gaz and me..." he said.

Zim nuzzled him. "That's why I'm trying so hard...I DON'T want to be like him..." he said.

Lifting his eyes up, Dib gazed at Zim through half-lidded eyes. "You're not..." he nuzzled Zim back affectionately, breathing in shakily.

Hugging him, Zim smiled. "You wanna go home? We can come back later for the smeets." he said.

Seeming to give that some thought, Dib slowly shook his head. "No...No, I don't want to have to make another trip back down here...I don't want to put you through another car ride or make Jack and Rose take time out of their lives to drive us back down here...Let's just...get it over with...I don't want us putting it off...Otherwise, we might not even get down here again to do it..." he said.

Zim nodded. "Okay, Dib." he kissed his head. "Whenever you're ready, we'll go looking, okay?" he said.

Closing his eyes to collect himself, Dib nodded his head slowly. "Do we know where we're going...?" he asked.

"Well, Jack and I were planning on taking you two to the same store we went to when we first went shopping, but I know there's at least one other baby store somewhere in the mall, maybe two if you want to check those places out too."

Without opening his eyes, Dib merely nodded his head slowly. "I guess it depends on what we end up buying..." he said.

"Well, we don't really know what gender the smeets are yet...We just know there are three..."

"Well, that leaves you with a few options then. You could either choose gender neutral colors for them until you know what gender they're going to be...Or you could get colors for both. Though the color doesn't really matter at this point. What matters is that the things you buy are useful."

"Let's just get neutral until we know." Zim nodded, the color purple coming to mind.

Rose smiled. "So...Any specific gender you're hoping to get when they're first born? Or does it matter to you?" she asked.

"Uhh..." Zim glanced to Dib. "Well...Zim was hoping male...What about you, Dib-love?" he asked.

Opening his eyes slowly, Dib blinked up at them. "T-To be perfectly honest, I-I haven't really given it much thought...I-I guess I'll be happy with whatever I get just so long as they're healthy...And I suppose there's a good chance we may get at least one of both...Heh...I really wouldn't mind a little girl though...err...Just so long as she's not too much like Gaz or Tak..." he smile nervously. "H-How about you? D-Do you and Jack already know what gender your baby is going to be?" he asked.

"Well..."

"Rose and I decided not to check yet...We want to be surprised..."

"And we don't want to get our hopes up..." Rose said, looking away somewhat sadly.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 93. =3 Until next time~


	92. Chapter 94

ZADR Orange Chapter 94

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Realizing his mistake in asking Jack and Rose about their baby, Dib blushed and looked away also. "Oh..." he could only blink at their answer before dropping his eyes down to the ground. He had forgotten again the sensitivity of the matter. Wrapping his arms around Zim, he then hugged the other's waist tightly as an awkward silence then followed.

"So, umm, how about those stores?"

Nodding his head slowly, Dib lifted his eyes up to look at Rose before pushing himself up carefully to a sitting position as he attempted to get back to his feet.

Standing up himself, Zim rubbed Dib's back. "So which one first?" he asked.

Rose turned to address Zim. "We'll take you to the one Jack and I got all our stuff first. Then we can check out the others to see if there's anything there that you guys want that you couldn't get at the other store." she said, getting up with Jack's help to lead them towards the store they had shopped at a few years prior.

"Alright then." Zim smiled and took Dib's hand, walking him towards the store Jack and Rose led them to.

His antennae drooping, Dib, meanwhile, remained somewhat hidden behind Zim as they walked. This just all felt too strange for him as they finally reached the store they were looking for and headed on inside. Antennae perking just a bit after they had entered, he then let his eyes wander about the fairly large baby store with all sorts of products parents needed to take care of their newborns.

Wrapping an arm around him, Zim pulled Dib up next to him. "What would you like to look at first?" he asked.

"Umm...Uh...Well, I...Ummm" Dib seemed fairly flustered as he looked about the place, not sure where to begin. "W-Well, I-I was thinking we'd just walk around and take a look at everything...B-But I guess we could start with...Umm...strollers?" he just threw out the first thing that came to his mind.

Reaching out to take his hand, Rose smiled. "You don't have to be so nervous, Dib. Now, come on. I believe the strollers are this way." she began leading them in the direction of said strollers.

Nuzzling Dib and smiling wide, Zim walked with him.

Dib allowed Rose to lead him over to an area that had multiple models of strollers, most designed for single babies while a few were specifically designed to hold two or more.

"Maybe we could get one for three."

"Well, it certainly would be easier to get around that way. Though I would suggest perhaps getting one that can be taken apart into separate strollers for each of them in the event you need to take one of them somewhere alone. That way you're not pushing extra weight around every time you go out somewhere." Rose said, strolling down the aisle to look them all over.

Zim nodded. "Of course." he said.

"But would there be room to carry things in them if we got one like that? It seems like a stroller made to carry multiples would be kind of crowded to me."

Not knowing the answer himself, Zim turned to Rose.

"Well...There may be a little less room than there would be for a stroller designed for carrying only one baby, but I'd have to check and see first to compare the two. I wouldn't worry too much about the amount of room you have to carry things, however. There are other things we'll be getting specifically designed to carry anything you think you'll need. And besides, I really think it has to do more with how the stroller is set up. You'll probably have even more room if the strollers are set up one right next to the other rather than each of them being connected from front to back."

"It sounds complicated...Why don't we just look at clothes or something. Zim's head hurts."

Slightly worried now, Dib glanced back at Zim for a moment before nodding his head in agreement.

"A-Alright then. We can come back to strollers later. Shopping for the smeets' clothes should be easier for you anyways. They have a great selection here for baby clothes." Rose smiled, leading them away from the stroller area to a larger section of the store specifically set up to showcase baby clothes for children aged newborn to about 3 or 4 years.

Seeing the large selection, Zim whined. "Can't they just make standard uniforms?" he asked.

"Oh, come on now, Zim. It's not that bad. Come with me. I guarantee you'll have fun during this part." Rose said, taking hold of his arm to lead him over towards a section of clothes for newborns while Dib and Jack were already busy looking through the clothes themselves. Walking through with Zim, Rose then noticed something that had a wide smile coming to her face. She dragged Zim over to it, picking through a selection of clothes before pulling out something that looked very familiar. "What do you think of this?" she smiled back at him, holding up a pair of baby pajamas that looked very similar to the top they had just gotten Dib with little bunny ears.

Starting to laugh, Zim snorted. "It matches Dib!" he exclaimed.

Rose smiled wide at him. "Can you imagine having 4 little bunnies around the house? A mother bunny and three baby bunnies?" she asked, holding up three different, lightly-colored bunny outfits for the smeets, referring to Dib and their smeets.

Laughing a little, Zim blushed. "Yeah..." he smiled, imagining it.

Arms crossed, standing behind him, a voice interrupted that little daydream of his however. "Pfff...I don't see why you'd want to dress them up like furry little, long-eared rodents..." Tak said, eyes half-lidded as Zim jumped in some surprise at hearing her voice. She smirked at his reaction.

Zim glared at her hatefully. "And what exactly are YOU doing here, TAK?!" he growled out, not in the mood to be dealing with her right now.

Obviously in her disguise now, Tak twirled a finger around the ends of her hair. "Oh, just waiting for your little boyfriend's sister to get off work. For reasons beyond me, she insists on keeping this horrible little job she got a while back at some game store." she said, gesturing to the game store across from the store they were in right now. "I just happened to notice you two heading in here while I was waiting outside." she smirked.

Zim growled a little more. "Well, go wait on her there! We don't want you here!" he exclaimed.

Arms crossed, Tak merely remained where she was standing. "As these humans say, 'It's a free country.' I can wait wherever I want." she said, obviously staying there just to annoy Zim. "After all...I wasn't allowed to exact my revenge on you by killing you like I had wanted, so I may as well resort to the next best thing. Annoying you. Tallest Purple never said I wasn't allowed to do that." she said.

Watching the exchange of words between the two in some confusion, Rose stood back.

Growling even more, Zim glared. "FINE! Stand wherever you want! But leave me and Dib alone!" he exclaimed.

Loving the reaction she was getting out of Zim, Tak smirked. "So tell me, Zim..." she purred out the other's name tauntingly. "Have you received word from Tallest Purple since the last time you two spoke?" she asked, as though she knew something that the other did not. "Or has he not contacted you yet?" she asked.

"No, why would I? What are you hiding?!"

"Hmmm...What was it again?" Tak pretended to think before smirking cruelly at Zim again. "Oh, yes...I remember now. He was considering taking a small trip out here to see you. I guess it just must have slipped my mind." she was obviously lying about having forgotten. "You might want to watch out for him. He could be here any day now." she said, recalling the day he had called her base back to request she tell Zim. "But I'm certain you have no problem with that. And your human probably won't mind either." she teased him, knowing the relationship Zim and Purple had been in so many years back.

Zim deadpanned. "Wh-What? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT SOONER?! THIS IS TERRIBLE!" he whined, grabbing hold of his antennas and tugging at them hard.

"What's the matter, Zim? I thought you and Purple used to be so...close." Tak smirked so that her teeth could be seen. "After all, won't your human be grateful towards him for saving your sorry life?" she asked.

Zim clenched his fists. "We called it off a long time ago! Stop trying to stir things up!" he exclaimed.

Defensively, Tak held up her hands. "Hey, it's not like it was may idea for him to come here. If you're going to blame anyone for this, perhaps you should blame Tallest Red. After all, HE'S the reason Tallest Purple wants to come here in the first place. He must have spent hours complaining to me about how Tallest Red won't touch him or even look at him anymore and about how much he wants to have a smeet but Tallest Red won't have sex with him." she said.

Zim's antennae drooped. "I wonder why he's doing that." he said, unable to comprehend why Red would reject Purple when he worked so hard to get him in the first place.

"Beats me. All I know is that Tallest Red hates your guts now and still wants you dead. He probably thinks you and Purple are sneaking away to random planets and having sex somewhere." Tak teased again.

"But I'm with Dib! I already told them I didn't want Purple!"

"Since when have you known Red to believe a word you say? Since when have you known him to believe anything ANYONE says? He doesn't even believe Purple, so why do you think he would believe you?"

Again, Zim's antennae drooped. "This is terrible! " he glanced at Rose. "Umm...I think we need to go..." he said.

Rose blinked down at him. "But we only just started shopping for the smeets and..." she sighed. "Alright...We'll come back another day..." she said.

Tak smirked. "Perhaps you can take Tallest Purple here with you since he seems SO in love with the idea of having a smeet himself." she said.

Gaz walked up behind her. "You know, one of these day you're going to get hurt if you don't stop teasing him like that." she said, causing Tak to jump suddenly. She had no idea how Gaz was able to sneak up on her so quietly.

Zim laughed at Tak's surprise. "What's wrong? The scary human too much for you?" he laughed again, not noticing Dib walking up behind him.

"Umm...Zim?" Dib caused Zim to jump also, him and Jack standing behind the Irken with some clothes they had picked out themselves. Then, shifting his gaze over to Gaz, his eyes grew wide and antennae perked before falling back somewhat when he saw Tak, who had recovered quickly from her small scare, turn to wrap her arms around Gaz's waist, pressing far too close for comfort to his sister.

Turning around, Zim looked at Dib. "DIB! Uhh...W-We need to go..." he said.

Eyes widening again, Dib turned his gaze back on Zim. "Wh-What?! Why? We just picked out some clothes for the smeets..." he held up what he and Jack had picked out before shifting his gaze back to Gaz and Tak, his mind not completely there, more concerned with how comfortable Tak was getting with his sister rather then why they were even there to begin with.

"We'll buy what we've picked out so far, but then we should really go." Zim continued glaring at Tak, not really making eye contact with Dib.

"But..."Dib began to protest but stopped himself, noticing the way Zim was glaring at Tak and turning his own glare on Tak. "What the hell did you say to him?! " he demanded, just knowing she must have said something to him to make him want to leave so suddenly.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 94. =3 Until next time~


	93. Chapter 95

ZADR Orange Chapter 95

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Smirking at Dib's question, Tak leaned herself even more against Gaz before answering. "Oh, nothing really. Just relaid a little message from Tallest Purple." she cackled a little. "Looks like he's going to come visit you two." she said, unable to hide the laughter in her voice.

Dib blinked his eyes wide open. "Wh-What...?" he looked over at Zim. "What?! I thought they were going to leave us alone!" he said, obviously not happy with the news. He didn't want to think about why their leader was coming in the first place considering his and Zim's previous relationship.

"Well, apparently not. Because he just called my base a few days ago and told me to let you two know." Tak smirked, now finding enjoyment in Dib's particular reaction, especially when she rested her head on Gaz's shoulder, hands traveling down the girl's body inappropriately.

Dib blushed at how Gaz just seemed to ignore the other's actions, doing nothing to stop her. "Stop touching my sister like that!" he finally exploded, no longer able to take the small display of "affection" in front of him.

Finally understanding why Dib was so mad and why these girls were harassing him and Zim, Rose made an "Oh" sound.

Zim took Dib's hand. "Come on, Dib. We don't have to take their shit." he said.

Turning on the other with a glare, Dib yanked his hand out of Zim's hand. "If you weren't taking their shit then you wouldn't be so insistent on leaving already just because your leader is coming!" he exclaimed.

"Dib, you know how bad this could be! If Purple comes here, who knows what Red will do with the empire! He doesn't care about the laws! We could both be in danger! Not to mention the smeets!" Zim grabbed Dib's hand again. "Now come on! We need to go!" he exclaimed.

Again, Dib pulled away. "No! The agreement was that they'd leave us alone if we left them alone! If they're not going to keep their end of the bargain, then I want nothing to do with either of them! Besides, what's the worst he could do if your other leader is already down here?! It's not like he'd blow up the planet with him on it! If you're so goddamn worried about what might happen with him being down here on Earth then YOU go deal with it! But I don't want to drop everything I'm doing just because he still has some crush on you from a long-dead relationship!" he exclaimed.

Zim's antennae drooped. "Dib..." he sighed. "Look. You don't get it. We are programmed to protect our leaders!" he exclaimed.

"Like you ever followed your programming. You killed our previous leaders."

"SHUT UP! IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

"No, you don't get it, Zim! There are things more important than your damn leaders! There are people more important than the people who abandoned you..." Dib pressed a hand to his extended belly.

Zim sighed. "Dib, you ARE the most important, okay? But right now, we have to do something." he said.

Antennae falling back in defeat, Dib stared up at Zim with tear-filled eyes before turning his head to look away, finally giving in though not happily. "...It just doesn't always seem that way, Zim..." he whispered in a barely audible voice, speaking more to himself than anyone else.

Zim looked away sadly. "Come on. Let's go buy what we have so far..." he said.

Pushing past the other as well as Tak and Gaz, Dib didn't argue but rather purchased the things he had picked out already, his antennae drooping down low.

Grabbing his own antennae and tugging down hard on them again, Zim sighed. "I hate you, Tak..." he said.

Tak smirked. "Aw, I hate you too, Zim." she teased the other cruelly before waving at him as he walked towards the check out lane with the bunny outfits Rose had found for the smeets.

Paying for all the baby clothes, Zim took the bags from the cashier. "Back to the car?" he mumbled, wanting to postpone the inevitable.

Dib just remained silent.

Rose looked first at Dib and then Zim. "I-I guess...But didn't you want to get something to take for your stomach so you don't get sick on the ride back?" she tried to at least take their minds off of what had just happened.

Glancing at Dib, Zim sighed more when he didn't say anything even now. "No, I'll be fine. Let's just go..." he said.

"A-Alright...If you say so..." Rose sent Jack a worried look before making her way back to the car, Dib following close behind her and Jack, neither saying a word or even looking back at Zim.

Following slowly, Zim, by the time they got to the car, felt miserable. "Here..." he gave Dib the bags. "Take them home. I'm walking..." he turned away from the car and started the long walk home.

Blinking down at the bags momentarily, Dib then dropped them to the ground and followed after the Irken angrily, grabbing a hold of his arm. "Oh, no, you're not! You're not leaving me to face your leader alone if I get home first!" he sent Zim an all too serious look, antennae pressed as far back against his head as possible.

Zim merely looked at him blank-faced, as if all his emotions had left him. "Just wait at Jack and Rose's house then. I'll come there to get you first." he said.

"No! What's the point in walking back if your whole reason for wanting to head home in the first place was to meet your leader at the house?! Hell, we could have shopped and driven home faster than it would take you to walk home from here!"

"Then keep shopping..." Zim turned back around. "Buy whatever you want." he pulled out a wallet from his PAK, well-stuffed full of money. "Use as much as you want." he handed it to Dib, still having that blank look on his face.

Taking the wallet from Zim, Dib clutched it in his hand tightly. "You just don't get it, do you?!" he threw it back at the other. "I wanted to shop for this stuff with you! Not alone! They're YOUR smeets too!" he yelled, repeating those same words Zim had said to him earlier when he had wanted to head home.

Still blank-faced, Zim turned back around and looked at him. "You don't seem to act like you want to be around me at all..." he said.

"Well, maybe I don't want to be around you when your top priority in life is obviously something other than your family!"

"It's not..."

Dib glared hatefully at Zim. "...Then why can't you just let go of the past and move on with life...? Why do you think you have to do ANYTHING for those jerks who lied and abandoned you here on Earth? Why?!" he was shaking now with anger more than anything else.

"I don't want to be shut down..."

"...What...? Wh-What the fuck do you mean by 'shut down'?!" Dib was gripping the front of the Irken's shirt tightly, hands trembling.

"It's all in my PAK...The only reason we are programmed to protect and obey the Tallest is because they can shut us down...Purple's never hated me enough to let Red do that though...It is a very serious punishment...But if Red is mad enough, he might go to the control brains and convince them to do it..." Zim kept his blank face, as if he could care less about dying himself. Really, he was just so emotionally overloaded, he didn't know how to act.

His hands now trembling more with fear for the other's life, Dib's eyes widened at the other's words before releasing him, taking a few unsteady steps backwards. "Wh-What...? B-But...B-But that's so unfair...It's just not right! Th-They can't just play around with people's lives like that...W-With YOUR life like that!" he was panicking, the world spinning as he collided into Jack, face a pale white as he stared with wide, fearful eyes at Zim as though the other would just collapse and die right there in the parking lot any moment now.

Still blank-faced and tired, Zim merely watched. "You wanted the truth..." he said.

"I...I-I'm going to be sick..." Dib was hyperventilating, unable to take his eyes off Zim as he felt himself falling back, Jack catching him and holding him up, causing everything to spin and blur. "I-I'm going to...I'm going to..." he saw the world around him turn black within seconds as everything became lost to him despite how hard he was trying to keep conscious.

"Zim! How could you do this?!"

His emotions going even more wild now, Zim stared at Rose when she yelled at him.

"He might be hurt now, Zim! Say something!"

His face contorting, Zim twitched before finally screaming out loudly and falling to his knees, his emotional overload finally leaving him by way of heavy sobs.

Rose's eyes grew wide. "Zim...?" she said.

Holding Dib up with one arm, Jack reached out to steady the Irken as he cried. "Zim, it's okay. Don't cry..." he said.

Tears rolling down his cheeks, Zim looked up at Dib. "I didn't mean it! Don't hate me! I-I didn't mean to tell you!" he exclaimed.

Shifting the weight of Dib in his arms, Jack knelt down. "Zim...You just scared him...He doesn't hate you..." he said.

Zim just kept shaking his head however. "I hate emotions." he said.

As the Irken slowly began to calm, Jack could only sigh at those words. "Zim, don't say that...Don't say that you regret having them...If you regret having them, then you're saying you regret loving Dib." he said.

"No, I don't regret that...Just the painful ones..." Zim sniffled a little. "I shouldn't have told Dib...I should have just stayed here. Stupid Tak. We were finally getting along..." he said.

"It's not your fault, Zim. You couldn't have known any of this would happen. You did what you thought you needed to do to protect both yours and Dib's lives."

Zim shook his head. "I ruined him...He won't look at me the same again...He hates me more than ever..." he said.

"No, he doesn't, Zim...He doesn't hate you...Y-You might have sent him into a bit of shock, b-but I guarantee you he wouldn't have reacted like that if he didn't love you, if he wasn't worried about your life..."

Reaching out for Dib, Zim sniffled. "He's just afraid to be alone..." he said.

"Well, can you blame him...? He's been alone for so long...He was alone until YOU came along...He's absolutely terrified of losing you, Zim..."

"..." Zim wrapped his arms around Dib, nuzzling him. "I know..." he said.

Already kneeling down near Dib, Rose reached out to take one of Zim's hands and press it to Dib's stomach. "You need to watch what you say around him, Zim...Otherwise, one of these days, he'll end up hurting himself and these smeets..." she said as the smeets inside of Dib moved, causing a flutter of movement to ripple beneath Zim's hand.

Nuzzling Dib's belly, Zim let the movement calm him down before kissing it slightly. "I think we should go home now..." he said.

"Do you want me to carry him to the car?" Jack asked, not wanting to disturb Dib too much by shifting him over into Zim's arms.

Picking up the bags, Zim nodded. "Please?" he said.

"Alright." Jack said, scooping Dib up to bring him to the backseat of the car so he could lay him down until Zim got in the car and could prop him up enough to get a seat belt on him.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 95. =3 Until next time~


	94. Chapter 96

ZADR Orange Chapter 96

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Crawling into the other side of the car, Zim set the bags down on the floorboard and reached out to take Dib from Jack.

Pulling away once Zim had taken Dib, Jack then proceeded to help Rose back into the car before climbing in himself. "So...Do you just want me to drop you two off at home? Or would you rather I take you back to our place until Dib wakes up?"

"I-I don't know..." Zim nuzzled into Dib. "Wherever he'd be happy..." he said.

"Zim...You know he'll be happy wherever he is just so long as you're there...So, let me state my question differently. Are you feeling well enough to survive an entire car ride home? Or would you rather be allowed to get out at our house, recover if you start to feel sick again, and then walk home with Dib later?"

"I think I can make it..."

"Alright. But this time instead of concentrating on the road so much, why don't you try to keep your focus on Dib? Think about the smeets or anything else about Dib that makes you happy. And just don't even pay attention to what's going on outside the car. If you can take your mind off it, you might not feel as car sick this time around."

"Oh! I know!" Rose turned in her seat to reach for the bag of clothes they had bought in the back seat. After a moment of searching, she finally pulled out the pajama top they had gotten Dib with the bunny ears. "Just think about Dib wearing this." she held it up for him, flopping the ears around like Dib's antennae again.

Thinking of the bunny pajamas, Zim smiled and chuckled a little. He then shook his head and nuzzled up next to Dib, laying against his belly.

Meanwhile, Rose continued to play with the bunny ears amused as Zim got comfortable in the back seat.

Starting up the car to take them home, Jack let out his own small chuckle, Rose keeping Zim distracted until they got there.

"So, that was Dib's sister back there?" Rose asked, trying to strike up a conversation as she fiddled with the shirt.

Keeping his eyes closed, Zim nodded and held tightly to Dib so as not to let the motion get to him. "Yes...And despite how much Dib hates it, that other female was her mate...Tak's an Irken too..." he said.

"Oh...So she was the same race as you...I could tell Dib was upset with how close she kept getting to his sister...Is he always that overprotective of her?"

"I don't think so...Only since his dad kicked them out...Really, she's the one who takes care of him..."

"Was she planning on helping with the smeets when they're born then?"

Zim scoffed. "As if. She was PLANNING on killing me. It was almost lucky that Dib got pregnant or else she would have. But if she does now, she could get shut down herself." he said.

"Hmm? Not his sister's girlfriend. I meant his sister. Is she planning on helping Dib when the smeets are born? O-Or does she even know he's pregnant?"

Zim laughed. "Oh, she knows...I have the bruises to prove it. But I'm not sure what she's going to do, if anything." he said.

"Well...She is the aunt now, so I would expect she'd be in their lives at least a little bit."

Zim pouted a little. "If she doesn't try to taint our smeets with her evil." he said.

Rose could only laugh a bit at that. "'Taint them with her evil?' Well, that seems like a kind of harsh thing to say. She didn't seem all that evil from what I saw of her. Perhaps a bit quiet, maybe rough around the edges, but certainly not evil. She was kind of cute-looking." she said.

Zim glared at Rose. "Cute like a rabid weasel." he said.

"What are you talking about? She looks just like a picture of their mother that Dib showed me a few weeks back. And she didn't look like a rabid weasel to me."

"Well, no...I guess it's just her personality..."

"Her personality? Well now, it couldn't be THAT bad...I mean, it's kind of hard for me to imagine she could be that bad when she's related to Dib."

"Oh, trust me. She is." Zim kissed Dib's belly. "She's his younger sister and until he moved in with me, she beat him up at least once everyday for something." he said.

"Oh, how horrible!" Rose looked back at Dib with sad eyes. "I guess it must be hard to stand up for himself when she's the younger sibling and a girl, no less..." she said.

Hugging Dib closer, Zim nodded. "And yet he still cares so much about her..." he said.

"I guess he can't really blame her for acting that way, especially when they both grew up in a household where their mother died when they were both so young and their father wasn't around to take care of them...I think I'd be angry too if I had to grow up like that."

Zim nodded. "But Dib isn't...He spent his whole life doing things for other people...Other people who all hated him..." he said.

"Yes...I'm actually surprised at how well-mannered he is after hearing everything he's been through...I mean, he still has his problems...But I hardly ever see him get really mad...Upset maybe...But he's under a lot of stress right now, what with the pregnancy and all."

Clinging tighter to Dib, Zim felt his stomach twisting up from the car's odd movements. "Yeah..." he said in response to Rose's words, beginning to feel sick again.

Noticing this, Rose sent him a concerned look. "Are you alright, Zim? Do you want to stop talking now?" she asked, looking back behind her to see where they were. "We should be reaching your house any minute now." she said.

Not wanting to talk anymore, Zim nodded and nuzzled down closer to Dib, nestling his head against Dib's belly and feeling the smeets move within.

"Alright..." Rose turned back around in her seat to watch the road as Jack drove the car into their neighborhood.

Meanwhile, Dib shifted the tiniest bit in the back seat, groaning in his unconscious state as his antennae twitched slightly.

Managing to keep from getting sick, Zim, as soon as the car stopped at his house, leaped up in victory before turning back to Jack and Rose."Could you help me get all this stuff and Dib inside?" he asked.

"Of course. I'll grab Dib." Jack climbed out of the driver's seat to scoop Dib up out of the back seat.

"Why don't you get the door for us, Zim, and I'll grab the bags of clothes." Rose said, already out of the car and leaning into the back seat to grab the bags.

"Okay." Zim stumbled to the door, grabbing the handle just to feel it turn under his hand. He looked up, eyes wide as the door opened. "M-My Tallest..." he said.

"Well, it took you long enough. Where were you? I said I was coming over. Your SIR unit had to let me in."

Coming up to stand behind him, both Rose and Jack stopped in their tracks at seeing Zim's leader.

"Hmm?" Purple's antennae perked a bit at seeing the two humans and then the unconscious Dib in Jack's arms. "And who are they? Your mate's...eh...What's the word these earthanoids use...Parental units?" he asked, not at all concerned about being seen without any kind of disguise on, just figuring that these humans were like all other species in the universe and already knew of life on other planets.

Zim swallowed nervously. "N-No, these are-" he began to say.

"Yes, we're Dib's parents!"

"Oh...Well, okay then..." Purple walked back into the house to sprawl himself out on the couch as though he had been living there a while now. "So, Zim...You didn't answer my question. Where were you just now?" he asked.

"A-At the Earth store, buying supplies for Dib and the smeets..."

Sitting up suddenly, Purple's eyes seemed to light up at that response and he smiled wide. "Oooh! Can I see?!" he asked excitedly. Although his business there had to do with asking Zim for a few pointers on how he might be able to get Red back into bed with him, the thought of getting to see what Zim had gotten for the smeets was just too good to pass up.

"Uhh...Sure, I guess...Just let me put Dib in bed first...He got a little stressed out..." Zim said, turning to Jack to take Dib from him.

Standing in the living room uncomfortably, unsure whether they should leave yet or not, Jack and Rose could only watch as Zim carried Dib to the elevator to take him down to the bedroom really quickly, Dib turning over in Zim's arms and nuzzling himself closer to the Irken's chest.

Noticing their uncomfortableness, Purple lifted an antennae curiously. "Eh...So you're Zim's mate's parental units...Funny, I thought he'd look more like you..." he said.

"Uhh, right. Yeah...Umm, he took more after his uncle than us." Rose smiled nervously. "Right, Jack?" she said.

"Oh yeah! Of course! Taking after relatives other than your parents is common in humans."

"Oh...Well, that's...strange...I wonder what their smeets will look like then..." Purple lifted his eyes to the ceiling, one eye closed and his tongue hanging out in concentration as he tried to think of what they could possible look like since Zim technically didn't have any relatives. "Well, maybe this time around the smeets will look more like one of you two." he said, shrugging it off.

Under his breath, Jack laughed. "I doubt that..." he said.

"So, are you excited about the smeets' arrival? Or is it also common for humans not to show excitement over any other offspring besides their own?"

"Oh, no! We're very excited! Most humans love the thought of babies, uhh, smeets."

Purple smiled. "Well, you're lucky...He's lucky...Him and Zim, I mean...I can't even get my mate into bed with me at the moment to even try and have a smeet...I get the feeling he doesn't even want one to begin with though..." his antennae drooped slightly at the thought. "But I guess that's not really all that much of a problem down here on Irth...Zim told me you, eh...was it humans?...reproduce like those fuzzy little animals with the long ears..." he said.

Jack blushed. "Uhh...You mean, rabbits?" he said.

"Oh, you poor dear." Rose sat next the Purple, still holding the bags close. "I'm sure he would want one. He probably just doesn't know it yet." she smiled softly then giggled. "Funny how you would bring up bunny rabbits." she dug into the bag, pulling out the bunny suits. "We got Dib and the smeets all matching bunny pajamas." she said.

Purple's eyes lit up at getting to look through the bag of clothes they had bought. "Ooooh...Hey, wait a minute...What about Zim? If you got one for his mate and smeets, he can't go around without wearing one too. They should all match." he said, nodding his head at his own words.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 96. =3

To Kuro: Hello, again. =3 Nice to hear from you once more. It's nice to know you're continuing to read even though school has started for you already. ^^ Do keep in mind though that the story isn't going anywhere. So don't feel rushed to read this story before getting your homework done first. Education is much more important than this story, after all. As for meeting Jhonen Vasquez, I actually did meet him also at DoomCON. He's pretty awesome and a lot nicer than most people think. =3 But what was special about meeting Wally was getting to hang out with him after the con. We went out to dinner with him a few times, had a movie night at his house, and even attended a Sunday evening church service with him. So it was pretty awesome getting to hang out with him during that time. ^^ As for the story, we are indeed catching up to where the old site left off. Unfortunately, once we reach that point, I'll have to retype at least 15 chapters over again since they weren't saved to my computer. But hopefully that won't slow me down too much. Anyways, much love you for reading, as always, and I look forward to hearing back from you again in the near future. =3

Until next time~


	95. Chapter 97

ZADR Orange Chapter 97

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Giggling a bit at Purple's observation, Rose reached her hand back into the other bag of clothes. "I guess he was thinking the same thing." she said, digging into the bag and pulling out the frog night shirt and pants. "See. He's a froggy." she smiled wide, holding the shirt up to be seen.

Grabbing it from her, Purple smiled wide and hugged it. "I'd give anything to see Zim in this." he snickered into his hands. "I wonder if I can convince him to put it on." he tried to imagine Zim wearing it.

Rose smiled a little. "Would you keep Zim alive?" she asked.

Purple looked back at her confused. "Hm? I-I wasn't planning on having him any other way...Of course I want him alive...I never said I wanted or was going to allow him to die..."he said.

"Well, Zim said his leaders had the power to end his life..."

"Well, yes. But that doesn't mean I want to..."

"What about your mate?"

"Eh...W-well, yeah...Red has already tried a few times...But I didn't tell him where I was leaving to so suddenly, and I made sure to talk to the Control Brains before I left in case he assumed I came here...I asked that they not let Red convince them to shut Zim down in the event that he ever went to them...I've actually been doing this for a while now...Every few years I go to them, asking that they continue to keep with their word not to kill Zim and not to let Red convince them otherwise."

"You have?" Zim asked, looking a bit surprised now as he had just entered the room and overheard the conversation.

Purple turned to look back at Zim. "Of course I have. You don't honestly think I'd be stupid enough to allow Red that option. He would have tried it long ago if I hadn't been there to stop him. It probably would have been his first resort. Why else do you think he would be going through all the trouble to try and find different ways of killing you? Going to the Control Brains would have been much easier." he said.

Smiling sadly, Zim looked down at the floor, his eyes watering up a little. "Thank you...I-I guess I owe you my life..." he said.

Looking away also, Purple blushed. "I-I'd rather you give me some advice rather than your life...B-but preferably after your mate has woken up...I-It's kind of a question for the both of you..." he said.

"Oh?" Zim looked up curiously. "If it's that important...Should I wake him up?" he asked.

"No, no! It can wait! After all, he's the one carrying the smeets. I-I wouldn't want to wake him up if he's tired."

Zim nodded a little guiltily. "Yeah..." he said.

After a few moments of silence, Purple finally spoke up again. "So...D-Does he know that I'm here...?" he asked.

Zim nodded a little. "He knows you're coming at least...Tak kind of ruined our outing...We just found out you were coming almost a half hour ago..."he said.

Purple flinched back a tiny bit. "Ooooh...I, umm...suppose he was pretty upset about it then...P-Perhaps feeling a little like Red does whenever we're around each other...So...W-Would you rather I stayed over at Tak's base while I'm here...?" he asked, now feeling as though he were intruding.

"NO! No, I don't trust her or Gaz...It's okay if you stay here..."

Purple still looked somewhat uncertain. "A-are you sure? Will your mate be alright with that? B-Because I really wouldn't mind if he didn't want me here..." he said.

"No, it's okay. You wanted both of our help, after all...And we would probably never get out enough to help if you weren't here..."

"Well, okay...But I'll only stay if he agrees to it too...O-Otherwise, I'll leave and just go back to Red..."

Zim gave him an odd look. "Okay, what's wrong? You never stutter this much." he said.

Antennae falling back as he shuddered, Purple closed his eyes tightly, trying to keep from breaking down and just telling Zim why he had come in the first place. "Nothing..." he willed his voice not to shake though his body showed it. He just wanted advice, he kept assuring himself, and he didn't want the other to know that anything was wrong.

Zim stared disbelievingly at him. "Come on. Out with it. I know you better than that. What's wrong?" he asked.

"IT'S BECAUSE HE WON'T TOUCH ME, OKAY?!" Purple exploded in an upset tone when Zim wouldn't just let it go. "He won't touch me, he won't talk to me, hell, he won't even look at me anymore!" he exclaimed.

Zim's antennae drooped. "Oh...I'm sorry...I can't help feeling this is my fault. It probably is actually..." he said.

Not having meant to explode on the other like that, Purple brought up a hand to wipe at his eyes. "No...No...It's not your fault...Red is just being...so stupid..." he said.

"Because he hates me...And thinks we still have something going on..."

Purple breathed in shakily. "I don't know how to make him believe me...I feel as though this is all my fault...I never should have told him all those years back that I was keeping you as an alternate mate if things hadn't worked out between us..." he said.

Looking away, Zim blushed. "No...But you should have told me...I thought we had called it off for good..." he said.

"It was only because I wanted to have smeets! I thought that maybe...if things hadn't worked out between Red and I, and you were still single...I might be able to win you back over and convince you to be my permanent mate...But that blew up in my face...A-And I gave up on it the second I found out you had already acquired a new mate...B-But I must have given up on it too late because now Red thinks there's something going on between us...All because I wanted to start trying to have a smeet with him...But we haven't been able to the few times we've tried...He thinks that I think it's his fault...But maybe I'm just afraid to find out it might be me...That I might be the reason we haven't been able to have any..."

Staring at Purple with an all too sad look on her face, Rose couldn't help but reach out to pull him into a small hug. "Ohh." she patted Purple's head. "I know exactly how you feel..." she said, remembering all the hard times she and Jack had been through.

"B-But how could you? You at least have a smeet!" Purple pointed in the direction Zim had taken Dib. "And it looks like you're about to have another one! But I haven't even been able to conceive once since we've tried! And now Red is giving up on even trying with me!" he exclaimed.

"Well, it was still very difficult. It took forever to finally conceive...And then we kept losing the babies before they could be born..."

"But we never gave up trying."

"S-So you think it's still possible that Red and I could have a smeet someday...?" Purple asked, playing with his fingers nervously as he looked back over at Rose. "I mean...Red doesn't even want to try any longer, and every time I even bring it up, he tells me to just drop it because he doesn't think I'd be able to take care of one properly...He doesn't even want to give me a chance to try!" he exclaimed.

"Of course you can." Rose petted his head. "Just trick him into making it. Act like you don't want a smeet anymore, then get him in bed." she said.

"Do you think something like that would really work? I mean...How would you convince your mate into getting into bed with you without letting on that that's the reason you want him in bed? I could tell Red I don't want a smeet anymore...B-But I'd have to have a really good excuse for making him sleep with me!"

"Well, do you two celebrate any special days throughout the year? Like the day you first met? Or your first time making love?"

Jack stood back with Zim, watching the two converse and feeling slightly uncomfortable with the conversation, convinced that they may be at it for a while now.

Zim looked up at Jack. "Want to get a snack or something?" he asked.

"Heh..." Jack laughed somewhat nervously. "Yeah, I think we better. They're probably going to be talking for a while now." he said as he turned to follow Zim into the kitchen, which was unfortunately close enough to the living room that they could still hear every word Rose and Purple were saying. Sighing, he took a seat at the table before smiling at Zim.

Zim smiled back nervously. "Looks like I cause a lot of problems, huh?" he said.

"Heh...I don't think any of what they're talking about out there is really your fault though. But it doesn't really matter. Rose loves helping solve other people's problems."

"Yeah...I've noticed that. It's like because she never had her own smeets, she sort of adopted everyone else's."

"Well, she loves children, whether they're her own or not. I'm fairly certain she'd still be this way even if she had had her own children."

Zim laughed a little. "I wouldn't doubt it...I wonder how Dib's doing..." he said.

"Do you want to go check?" Jack asked, standing up from his seat as though to go with the other, if not for Dib's sake then his own to get away from the conversation coming from the living room.

"Yeah..." Zim nodded and stood up. "You coming too?" he asked.

"Yeah...As much as I love Rose, I don't think I can listen to anymore of this conversation coming from her. It only reminds me that she has a somewhat devious side to her too." Jack shuddered.

Zim laughed. "Everyone does." he said, heading for the toilet. "Well, come on then." he said.

Jack smirked at that remark. "Does that mean you've found some kind of devious side to Dib too?" he asked.

"Well, Dib WAS always trying to dissect me..."

Jack couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh, wow. Now he told us he spent a lot of time trying to expose you over the years, but I guess he forgot to mention THAT little detail. I suppose it's safe to assume that that devious side to him is gone now though, right?" he said.

"Well, I'm not sure...I hope not. That was one of my favorite sides of him."

Jack laughed again. "So, what? Are you saying you have some kind of dissection fetish now?" he joked a bit.

"Wha-NO!"

"Alright. Alright. I was just playing with you." Jack said in a still somewhat amused voice. "But anyways. What is it that you like about Dib wanting to dissect you then? That's kind of a weird side to like about somebody." he said.

"Not dissection! I just like his deviousness." Zim blushed. "I like a lot of things about Dib...He's tall, at least taller than me, and he was a very worthy adversary...Though to be honest, I probably could have destroyed the planet and him if I had ever wanted to..." he said.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't..." Jack smiled nervously at the other before looking back ahead of himself. "But I guess I can understand that. You mean you like a more assertive Dib. K-Kind of like how he was back at the mall when he was telling that girl to back off from his sister." he said.

"Yeah! Like that!" Zim grinned wide. "That was great..." he said.

Amused, Jack smiled. "I take it that's a side of Dib you rarely see nowadays compared with how he must have been in the past...So I guess it must be something of a treat for you to see him get like that every once in a while." he said.

"Yeah, it is...But if I stirred him up myself, he'd just break down now instead of getting that way..." Zim said, sighing a bit as he really missed that side of Dib.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 97. =3 Until next time~


	96. Chapter 98

ZADR Orange Chapter 98

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Giving Zim's words some thought, Jack shifted on his feet in the elevator. "Well...All those other times you stirred him up, he had a reason to get that way. He had a purpose. He felt like it was his duty to protect the people around him. But now that he no longer really considers you a threat, he probably thinks that you're just picking on him when you stir him up like that." he said, nodding his head to himself to assure what he had said had made sense.

"Yeah..." Zim sighed, rocking back and forth in the elevator. "I just want Dib back to normal..." he said.

"Just remember, no matter how much he changes, he's still Dib. Perhaps a bit hormonal right now, but still Dib nonetheless. And despite what you may think, I think he's a lot happier in life now, getting to settle down with you, start a family. And you know he must be relieved to be out of his previous living conditions."

"Yeah...Maybe..." Zim sighed, waiting for the elevator to bring them all the way to the bedroom.

"I know he's happier." Jack smiled at the other as the elevator finally came to a halt and opened into the bedroom Dib was sleeping in.

Part of the pillow in his mouth, Dib laid curled up under the covers of the bed, chewing on said pillow and snoring lightly.

Laughing a little at the display, Zim smiled. "I don't think he's gonna wanna wake up." he said.

Following Zim into the room, Jack smiled also. "What do you think he's dreaming about right now?" he asked.

"If I had to guess? Food."

Jack laughed at that answer. "Well, that makes sense, what with the smeets and all. Is there anything in particular he's been craving since he first got pregnant?" he asked.

"Sugar. He puts it on everything. Most Irkens love sugar already, but he kinda has an extreme craving for it..." Zim face palmed. "I forgot. We need more sugar..." he said.

Jack let out a slightly amused noise. "Oh, right. I forgot. Rose has a thing for chocolate right now. Hey, you know, if you'd like, you could come over tomorrow and have dinner with us. We're having some family members over for the weekend, but we'd love it if you joined us. Then we could send you home with some extra sugar to hold you over until you can buy more at the store." he said.

"Really? Oh, wait...What about Purple?"

Jack just smiled. "Go ahead and bring him with you. The more the merrier. He seems to be getting along with Rose really well. And I think Rose would be relieved to have somebody else to talk to besides her mother. They don't exactly see eye to eye, and her mother never liked the fact that she agreed to marry me." he said.

Zim laughed a little. "Yeah, I know how you feel...Hey..." he swallowed nervously. "Umm...You and Rose are married...What did you have to do to become that way?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Jack sent Zim a slightly confused look. "Oh, well...When two people get married, basically there's either a big or small ceremony with the friends and family of the two people participating. It usually involves getting dressed into really nice clothes, an exchanging of vows between the two people to honor and love each other no matter what for the rest of their lives, and then it's made official by receiving a ring and a kiss." he said, holding out his hand to show Zim his wedding ring. "See?" he said.

"Ohh..." Zim nodded, taking in the information. "And why do they get married? What's the difference between being together and being married? Are there perks or something?" he asked.

"Well...For starters, when two people are married, it's recognized by the culture they live in. I wouldn't say there are too many differences between being married and just being together, but it's just kind of like a way to make it official and let the world know this is the person you love and nobody else can have them. And then once you have children, it's kind of considered a way of keeping the family name going. Also, it shows the person you love how far you will go to prove it to them. It shows them that you have no intentions of ever leaving them for somebody else."

Glancing at the still asleep Dib, a grin spread across Zim's face before he grabbed Jack's arm, pulling him out of the room and closing the door. "We need one!" he exclaimed.

Letting out a startled noise when the other pulled him out of the room, Jack, without really thinking at first, mistook Zim's words in his head. "Wh-What?! But Zim, I'm already married to Rose!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, I know! That's why this will work!"

"Zim, I am NOT marrying you!" Jack tried to pull his arm from the Irken's, assuming the other must have gone crazy.

"WHAT?!" Zim let go instantly, causing Jack to stumble away. "Why would I want to marry you?! I mean, you're nice and all, but I have Dib! And you have Rose! Why would you want to marry me?!" he exclaimed.

"Y-You're the one who-" Jack stopped mid-sentence, just then realizing what the other had meant. "O-Oh...You meant you and DIB needed one...I-I thought you had meant...W-Well, never mind what I thought you had meant! The bottom line is, you want to marry Dib...Am I getting this right?" he asked.

A somewhat worried look coming to his face, Zim stared at Jack confused for a moment. "Yes, that's what I was saying..." he said.

"A-Are you serious?! I-I mean, I'm not saying your idea is crazy or anything, but...ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Jack asked again, unable to process in his mind what Zim wanted to do.

"Yes, I am. I want Dib and all of Earth to know just how much I care for him. I love him and the smeets. And I want them all to be happy."

"W-Well, I can understand that, Zim, but setting up a marriage isn't as easy as it sounds. It involves months of preparation. And it's not just a spur of the moment thing, either. It involves both you and Dib agreeing to go through with it. Not to mention the whole process of even asking him to marry you. And marriage isn't typically something that's performed between two people of the same sex. A-At least, not in most societies."

"Well, Earth societies can get over it." Zim suddenly looked nervous. "What do I do to ask him?" he asked.

Jack sighed. "Look, Zim. I'm not saying you can't do it. All I'm saying is that I don't think you realize what you're getting yourself into here. If you're seriously planning on doing this, you'll need some help, and seeing as how Rose and I are the only ones who can help you with this at this point, I guess we really don't have any choice in the matter. I already know for a fact that Rose will be more than willing to help out the second you tell her you want to do this. But you'll have to do exactly what we say. Are you willing to do that?" he asked.

"Yes." Zim nodded seriously. "Zim can follow orders." he said.

Again, Jack sighed. "Alright. Well, for starters, you can't just walk in there and ask Dib to marry you. On Earth, it's customary that the person asking the one they love to marry them first buy an engagement ring. And an engagement ring is kind of like a wedding ring except that it's given to your lover BEFORE the wedding. This way, people know you're getting married but you have time to actually plan the ceremony. And you can't just go buy an engagement ring, give it to him, and ask him to marry you out of the blue. The time when you should ask him ought to be special. Wait until you two are alone, perhaps on a romantic date or something." he said.

Grinning, Zim nodded. "So we'll keep this a secret. I had hoped for it to be that way anyway. Now, we just need a special occasion." he said.

"Zim, I can't tell you when to give it to him. All I'm saying is to make it special. Just whatever you do, don't do it casually. You need to wait until just the right moment. But I think you'll know when that is. When it happens, you'll instinctively know what to do. Oh! And don't forget to get down on one knee while you're doing it. I-It's just something that humans do when they propose."

Zim nodded. "Got it. So, when shall we get a ring?" he asked.

"Weeell...I guess if you guys come over tomorrow, you and I could sneak away for a while to go look at rings. Otherwise, we can wait until later in the week. Or, if you'd rather, we could shop for rings online, but I think it would be nicer to look at rings in person. I should warn you though, they can get pretty expensive."

"Moneys are no issue of Zim's. I am well funded. I think sneaking away at dinner would be the best option." Zim nodded. "Oh, should we tell Rose though?" he asked.

"I'll tell her later. She can keep Dib distracted while we're off looking at rings. Just...try not to go too overboard though. Remember, your top priority should be making sure you have enough money to pay for what you need for when the smeets come. I know you're in a hurry to get married now, but just remember that buying a ring can wait. The babies can't though. They're set to come in another 5 or so months."

"I know. I told you I have plenty of funds."

"Well, okay then. I hope you have enough for what you're getting yourself into. But I guess we'll just take one step at a time and work through this slowly. I don't think it would be best to set up a specific date for it just yet. You don't want to be stressing Dib out to get things done by a certain time when he's already got the smeets to worry about."

"Yes, I know. Let's just not mention it at all unless he accepts."

"Alright. But you know, if he turns you down once, that doesn't mean you can't keep trying...Y-You know, in the event that he does, that is."

Zim's antennae drooped. "You think he will?" he said.

"Knowing Dib...I-I think that if he did, he'd have a good reason for turning you down...I-If he felt like he was being rushed or something...B-But I also think he'd be willing to accept it a little later if that were to happen. To tell you the truth, I don't know how he would react to a proposal right now though. He might accept it. He might not. It all just comes down to how and when you ask him. But either way, you know he'll love you no matter what."

Zim's antennae drooped even more so. "So, what is the point then?" he sighed heavily. "He's only staying here because of the smeets, isn't he?" he said.

"N-No! That's not what I said! I know he's not only staying because of the smeets! You have to have more faith in his love for you! You've told him before that it hurt you when he didn't believe you love him as much as you said you did. So how do you think he'll feel knowing you don't believe he loves you as much as he says he does? I mean, do you really think Dib would lie about something like that?"

"...I don't know..."

"Zim, you have to stop doubting him so much! Dib's not that kind of person! He wouldn't lie about something like love. If he says he loves you, then he loves you. You have somebody who's coming from a family where there's little to no love at all! It has to mean something when he comes out and says that you're the person in his life that he loves."

"But what good is that if he won't be willing to show it?"

"Zim! How has he not shown it?! Every time that he cries, every time that a tear falls from his eyes, it's all because of you! Because he loves you! When you two have a fight or misunderstanding, it's because he thinks he's screwed up and lost your own love! He gets so upset at the thought of losing you just like you would get if you lost him!"

"Then he would be willing to accept this." Zim nodded almost positively.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 98. =3 Until next time~


	97. Chapter 99

ZADR Orange Chapter 99

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Seeing Zim perk back up somewhat at his words, Jack smiled. "I think that no matter what happens, things will work out for the better. Don't even think about what might or might not happen. You two were happy before you decided to do this, so stop putting so much emphasis on this as though it will be the deciding factor in whether you two stay together or not. I already told you that marriage is just something people do to re-affirm their love for each other. It doesn't mean that two people can't be happy together without one. I know you'll love Dib no matter what, so just go in there and let him know that. You don't need a marriage to tell him that." he said, placing a hand reassuringly on Zim's shoulder.

Zim smiled a little. "Okay then...Should I wake him up?" he asked.

"Only if you think it can't wait until later to tell him..." Jack smiled back at Zim reassuringly.

Zim grinned wide. "It's still a secret, remember? But I'll tell him about dinner." he said.

"I think that's a good idea. Considering what he's dreaming about, he'll probably be more than happy to come over for dinner tomorrow night." Jack laughed a bit to himself.

Zim nodded happily. "Yes." he rushed back into the bedroom and crawled onto the bed, nuzzling Dib. "Diiib!~ Are you hungry?" he asked.

His antennae twitching, Dib could only respond with a small muffled sound. "Mmm..." he attempted to curl in on himself more in a somewhat irritated fashion, the sudden wake up call not proving to be very effective.

Licking up the length of one of Dib's antennas, Zim laughed a little.

Shuddering beneath the other, Dib automatically gasped in his sleep at having his antennae licked. "Mmmm...Hmm?" he peeked one eye slightly open before blinking the both of them open slowly, tiredly.

Nuzzling Dib, Zim purred. "Time to wake up, love." he said.

Still in a sleepy daze, Dib whined a little bit. "But what about the smores...?" he mumbled, not realizing right away that he had only dreamed about them.

Laughing a little, Zim snorted. "Okay, we can have smores too." he said.

"Mkay..." Dib responded back tiredly, nuzzling back into Zim and closing his eyes as though to sleep again, clinging to the other's waist now, his antennae falling back to rest against his head.

Zim kissed him. "Come on, Dib...Aren't you hungry? You seemed to really enjoy eating your pillow." he said.

Dib smacked his lips together contently. "...Can we have marshmallows and hot chocolate too...?" he murmured into the other's shirt, never once opening his eyes, still not fully awake. He was far too comfortable right then to pull himself out of his dream-like state just yet, and Zim's warmth was only serving to make him want to drift back off again completely.

Zim laughed. "All that and much more!" he exclaimed.

Managing to slip his head under the rim of Zim's shirt for more warmth, Dib pushed it even more into the other's side before yawning tiredly. "...I like chocolate..." he said.

Zim kept laughing. "I bet you do. It is deliciously sweet." he said.

"Mmhmm..." Dib agreed quietly against the other's skin.

Jack walked up to the bed. "Wow. He's really out of it. I'll bet you could carry him upstairs, sit him down next to your leader, and dress him in that pajama top you and Rose got him without him even realizing he's left this room." he joked, laughing to himself a bit. "But you know...I still do have that coffee Rose made me buy him earlier this morning sitting in the car. You want me to go out there and get it for him? It might wake him up a bit." he said.

"Nahh, we'll let him rest." Zim kissed Dib. "Love you..." he said.

"Mmm...I love you too, Zim..." Dib murmured in a tired voice, antennae twitching in his sleep and curling near the tips delicately.

Zim nuzzled him. "Hmmm...I think I'll stay here for a little while..." he said.

"Alright. You do that. I'll head back up and see what Rose and your leader are talking about now. Do you care if I tell them what you're planning to do? I know Rose will be ecstatic to hear it."

"Hmm...Go ahead. Just make sure Dib doesn't find out..."

"Don't worry. Rose isn't going to come down here and spoil the surprise. But I can't guarantee she won't be all smiles from now on whenever she's around you and Dib."

Zim smirked. "Like she isn't that way already." he said.

Jack smiled, amused. "True. Well, I'll leave you two to your privacy." he said, leaving with a smile on his face, hands in his pockets to take the elevator back up to the house level of the base.

His antennae twitching forward to brush past Zim's face gently, Dib yawned in his sleep before curling around Zim even more.

Pulling Dib's antennas into his mouth, Zim snickered.

Squirming beneath the other as the Irken flicked his snake-like tongue against the very tip of one of his antennas, Dib gasped instinctively before letting out a small, low-toned moan. "Mmmm...Zim..." he said.

Sucking harder on Dib's antennas, Zim purred.

His face scrunching up at Zim's attentions, Dib let out another small whine. "Mmmm! Nyeeh..." he began wriggling about beneath Zim, his cheeks heating up a light pink as he panted beneath the other.

Grinding against him, Zim chuckled.

"Ah...Ah!" Dib arched his back off the bed slightly, squeezing his legs together and rubbing them back and forth as he squirmed about underneath Zim.

Enjoying this, Zim slid his arms under the covers and into Dib's clothes to rub his sides.

A small purr of sorts escaping him in the form of a hum, Dib inhaled sharply before letting it out slowly.

Feeling him up more, Zim moaned around Dib's antennas.

The feel of Zim's soft hands trailing themselves up his sides sending a shiver down his spine, Dib breathed out heavily.

Enjoying this all too much, Zim pulled the covers away and pushed up Dib's shirt, licking his chest.

"Ooooh...Ziiiim..." Dib groaned out in his sleep, his antennae twitching and hands unconsciously traveling up to Zim's own body to hold him closer to him.

Letting his antennas go, Zim kissed him sweetly. "I'd take you upstairs, but you seem a bit busy." he said.

Feeling Zim pull away somewhat, Dib couldn't help but let out a small whimper in his sleep. "Don't stooop..." he whined, not wanting his dream to end as he lifted his hips slightly, just wanting to feel body against body.

Laying back down on top of him, Zim laughed a little.

Happily cuddling back up with the other, Dib sighed out in some relief at having the other's closeness back and nuzzled his face into Zim's chest. "Mmmm..." he sounded out.

Zim smiled. "You're so clingy." he said.

Intertwining them together in his sleep, Dib didn't respond to that save for a small yawn as he found himself wrapping his legs around Zim's before letting out a small snore, his antennae falling back to rest against his head comfortably, not even caring that his shirt was still pushed halfway up his body, just not wanting to lose his source of heat at the moment.

Zim nuzzled him. "You're being very difficult." he said.

Antennae twitching again, Dib merely slept on before a flutter of movement in his belly jolted him slightly awake though not completely.

Zim smiled. "Looks like they want to play." he said.

Dib shifted to lay more on his stomach now. "...Then you play with them...I just want to sleep..." he murmured sleepily, feeling like he could sleep for another 24 hours.

Zim laughed. "I will in a few months." he said.

Dib spoke into his pillow. "I wish I could wait that long..." he said before slowly blinking his eyes partway open to sit up slowly in the bed, antennae shuddering. "...But I think they're hungry..." he yawned out before feeling another kick to the gut.

Zim laughed a little. "They probably don't like pillow." he said.

"...I don't think they like anything other than sugar..." Dib mumbled, sounding a bit upset that a lot of the foods he used to love to eat now made him feel sick to his stomach even to just think about them.

"Well then just make them happy for now and as soon as they're born, I'll buy you a big dinner of all your favorites."

"Mmmm...Mkay..." Dib took Zim's offer before crawling over to the bed's edge to sit with his legs hanging over the side now as he rubbed his eyes.

Sighing, Zim nuzzled him. "Jack's invited us to have dinner at their house this weekend. I said yes." he said.

"This weekend...? But it's 4th of July weekend...I thought you hated that holiday..." Dib said, referring to Zim's reaction to it last year when he had thought the planet was under attack.

Zim froze. "I-It is?" he bit his lip, not having realized it was that terrible Earth time again.

"Y-Yeah..." Dib shrunk back a bit, unsure whether Zim was still mad at him about the fireworks he had thrown at the other's base last year to scare him. He wouldn't blame the other if he decided to change his mind in favor of boarding up his base and hiding out until the fireworks stopped.

Zim swallowed nervously. "I-It's okay...I'll just...wear ear muffs or something..." he said, knowing he had to go. If he didn't, he couldn't buy Dib a ring.

"Are you sure? I know the fireworks scare you, and we could always go over there another time if you don't feel like being out while they're going off." Dib said, not wanting to put Zim through that if they could avoid it.

"NO! We have to go. I'll be fine."

Jumping slightly at Zim's reaction, Dib blinked at him confusedly. "Okay..." he said a bit unsure, not wanting to argue with the other any longer about this.

Still biting his lip, Zim nodded. "Come on. Let's go get you something to eat for now." he said, gesturing for Dib to follow him.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 99. =3 Until next time~


	98. Chapter 100

ZADR Orange Chapter 100

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Nodding his head slowly, Dib watched the still rather nervous-looking Irken crawl over to the opposite end of the bed to get up before standing up himself to follow him out of the room. "...O-Okay..." his voice came out in a whisper as he walked behind Zim to the elevator, keeping his eyes glued to the ground as he played with his fingers, only glancing up at Zim every few seconds before returning his gaze to his feet.

Zim wrapped his arm around Dib once he entered the elevator. "Umm, there's another thing too..." he said.

"Hmm?" Dib lifted his gaze up to look back at Zim. "What is it?" he asked.

"Purple's here..."

Antennae perking at that and eyes snapping wide open, Dib pulled away from Zim a bit, his antennae then falling back to press against the back of his head. As could be expected, he was angry, but he wasn't going to say anything for Zim's sake. "...I-I don't care..." he said, looking away to the side, now refusing to make eye contact with Zim.

Wanting to hold Dib again, Zim sighed. "It's not my fault, Dib. He was here when we got home..." he said.

Eyes narrowed, Dib continued to stare down at the floor beneath them. "Okay..." was his only response as he still refused to even glance up at Zim, just trying to keep from losing his temper. He wasn't comfortable with Purple staying with them, but he didn't want to put Zim's life in jeopardy either by sending him away.

Reaching out, Zim rubbed Dib's back. "Don't worry about him though. Rose is keeping him occupied." he said.

Sighing out irritatedly, Dib otherwise didn't pull away. "Whatever..." he still wouldn't meet Zim's gaze, the other's massaging doing little to relieve his tension.

His antennas drooping, Zim sighed. "I'm sorry, Dib..." he said.

"Why? I already told you I don't care..." Dib's voice held very little emotion to it though it was outlined by just the tiniest bit of anger still that could be easily detected despite how hard he was trying to hide it from the other. Or perhaps it was jealousy, something he had never shown in front of the Irken before or expected to show.

Again, Zim sighed. "You're mad at me though...I promise you I had no idea he was going to come here! I thought we'd seen both the Tallests for the last time when we were on the Massive..." he said.

"I'm not mad at you, Zim...I told you...I. Don't. Care." Dib emphasized the last three words more to get his point across. He was lying, of course, but he just didn't want to make a big deal out of it now that there was nothing they could do about it.

Not really believing Dib, Zim sighed but let it go, not wanting to get into another fight with him.

The elevator finally coming to a stop, Dib fell silent also as it opened up into the kitchen, at which point Rose was waiting right outside the door, a wide smile on her face as she squealed excitedly before pulling Zim into a tight hug. Jack had told her Zim's plans and she just couldn't leave until she saw the other. So she had waited right outside the elevator door when she heard it coming up.

Still hugging Zim close, Rose reached out to pull Dib into a hug also, causing the boy to blink his eyes wide open in some surprise and confusion at the sudden hug. Of course, she knew not to say anything, but she just couldn't help bouncing in place as she happily hugged them close.

Hugging back, a small grin spread across Zim's face before he wrapped an arm around Dib too.

His face flushing a bright pink now, Dib could only blink in even more confusion as the two hugged him tightly in between them before he glanced over at Jack on the couch, who merely smiled back at him knowingly yet secretively.

Zim chuckled. "Okay, I think Dib's confused enough for now." he pulled back from the hug.

Confused, Dib could only continue to look back and forth between Zim and Rose. "What? What are you hiding from me?" he finally brought his gaze back to land on Zim, expecting the other would tell him what he was keeping from him.

"I'm not hiding anything. I just like to hug you." Zim said with a straight face in an honest voice.

Not buying the other's words, Dib looked back at Rose a second time before returning his gaze to Zim again. "I don't believe you. Now tell me what you meant by, 'You've confused me enough.'" he said.

"Well, you looked really confused. I figured you didn't understand why we were hugging you."

"Well, I didn't, and I'd like to know why you were if you don't mind telling me." Dib said, glaring slightly at the Irken for playing mind games with him.

Zim looked hurt. "Well, she hugged you first, so I hugged too." he said.

Still glaring at Zim, Dib, after a moment, sighed and closed his eyes as he turned away from the other, antennae drooping. "Fine...If you say so..." he said, obviously still not believing the other.

Zim's antennae drooped. "Aw, don't be like that, Dib. We were just hugging you." he said.

Again, Dib sighed. "I wish I could believe you, Zim...I really do...But...I just can't...I can tell when you're lying, and I know that you're lying to me right now! But...I also know you have your reasons...A-At least, I hope...So I won't push it any farther..." he said.

Glancing up at Rose and Jack worriedly, Zim sighed.

Noticing this, Dib let his antennae droop down even more. "Sorry...Maybe I should just head back down to bed...I know I sound inconsiderate saying that...So if you want me to leave, I will..." he said, already getting up to head back towards the elevator.

"NO! No, we don't want you to leave. I just got you up here. I thought you were hungry..."

"I am..." Dib said, eyelids slipping half closed as his antennae drooped. "M-Maybe that's why I'm being such an ass right now..." he said tiredly, dropping the whole hugging thing and walking over to take a seat at the kitchen table.

Zim smiled sadly. "So, what would you like to eat?" he asked.

"Umm...Uh...I don't know...Anything will do, I guess..." Dib felt like all their eyes were on him now, something he didn't like. "Why don't you ask the smeets what they want...?" he said, resting his head in his arms, trying to ignore all the kicking inside of him at the moment.

Zim laughed a little. "Alright. Let's see then." he nuzzled his head onto Dib's belly, pressing his antennas to it. "Hmmm. Uh huh. Uh huh...Okay, I'll tell him." he pulled back. "They want sugar and for their mommy to cheer up." he said.

Sighing, Dib could only return his head to the table. "That's what they always want..." he murmured against the table, antennae twitching slightly.

Pulling back, Zim sighed. "I'll make you something..." he said.

Without lifting his head, Dib called after the other. "Anything but waffles!" he yelled, shuddering at his most recent meal to come up after having gotten sick. He had a craving for a lot of foods nowadays, but half of them he couldn't even keep down long enough to enjoy. If it wasn't his stomach rejecting the food, then it was the smeets. After a moment, he sat up in his seat to poke at his stomach and talk to them himself. "Hey...Quit being such picky eaters..." he said.

A flutter of movement was Dib's only response.

Pulling out some leftover Chinese, Zim smiled a little and heated it up quickly before bringing it to Dib.

Continuing to poke at his stomach with one hand, Dib used his other hand to pick up a fork and dig into his Chinese food. "Alright...Alright...I'm feeding you..." he took a few bites, hoping for the kicking to stop soon or at least lessen. "Are we out of sugar?" he asked after a few moments, bringing his attention back to Zim.

"Oh, uhh...Let me check." Zim ran back to the cupboard, hoping they weren't.

Antennae perking, Dib watched Zim with wide eyes. "Y-You know, it's alright if we are...I don't mind eating it like this..." he said, not wanting to cause any trouble in the case they were. As much as he craved sugar, it wasn't like he couldn't eat without it.

Finding a small amount, Zim jumped with joy. "Found some!" he rushed back over to Dib, holding it out. "We'll get more later." he said.

Blinking at the small amount of sugar, Dib smiled and took it to sprinkle over his food. "Thanks..." he reached up to pull Zim down for a small kiss. "...for everything..." he said.

Kissing back, Zim grinned wide. "Don't mention it, love." he said.

Returning back to his food after a moment, Dib smiled back at Zim with a small blush, happily eating the rest in silence until the kicking had settled. Once finished, he then leaned back against his chair a bit to run his hand over his stomach. "Well, I think that calmed them down somewhat." he said.

Nodding, Zim grinned. "Good." he said.

Rose came up to take a seat next to Dib at the table. "So, Dib, is there anything in particular you want Jack to make you when you come over tomorrow? I know you've been living off of fast food the past couple of weeks and that's not very good for you and the smeets. He'll make you anything you like if you just tell us." she said.

Dib looked up at her. "Anything...I'd like...? U-Ummm...I-I don't know..." he looked back at Zim for help. "Wh-What do you want?" he asked.

Zim laughed a little. "They asked you, not me. I don't care what we eat." he said.

"B-But I'm the one who will eat most anything. You're allergic to a lot of things. A-And besides...I kind of lived off of a lot of take out even before I moved in with you...When we weren't having take out, Gaz and I mostly just ate things like cereal or toast. We never really had a big family meal...A-At least, from what I can remember...Dad was always working and the only thing I can really remember my mom making that WOULDN'T cause you to have an allergic reaction was rice and this really good macaroni and cheese...O-Or are you allergic to cheese too?"

"I can eat cheese."

Rose rubbed Dib's shoulder. "It's okay, Dib. We can make something special for Zim that he isn't allergic to." she said.

"Well...Umm...I guess I kind of miss eating spaghetti and meatballs..."

"Spaghetti and meatballs it is then!" Jack grinned wide.

"Well, is that okay?! Or is it too much work?! I don't want to make you do too much work!" Dib said, suddenly feeling rather flustered.

"Dib, it's fine."

"Yeah. Spaghetti and meatballs is a really simple meal to make."

"Well...Okay...If you say so..." Dib blushed. "So, what do you want to eat, Zim?" he looked back to the other, curious as to what the Irken was going to eat now.

"Hmmm, I believe over the years I've grown quite attached to a certain rare Earth snack." Zim crossed his arms behind his back. "Would it be possible to get the krispy squares? You know, the yellowy ones with the fluffy white stuff in them." he said, trying to describe the treat he wanted to them.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 100. =3

To Kuro: Well, here you are, Kuro. Another chapter that I hope you'll enjoy as much as the others. Sucks that you couldn't make it to DoomCON though. But who knows. You may still get a chance to meet Jhonen some day. ^^ Just gotta have faith that it will happen. =3 And I'm glad to hear you haven't been too loaded down with homework. Here's to hoping things stay that way. At least until the story is caught up with where it originally left off, that is. I'll be trying to get chapters out as quickly as I can over the next few days. So hopefully it won't be too long now. Well anyways. Thanks a ton for reading and reviewing. ^^

Until next time~


	99. Chapter 101

A/N: Alright. So I got a few things to discuss before posting Chapter 101 of ZADR Orange. And since I went over this back over on DA, I figured I might as well go over it here as well. In recent months, I've come to conclude that I'm really not a big fan of the Invader Zim fandom, as I'm sure you all could already gather. I've been in the fandom for close to seven years now, and it just very recently hit an all time low for me when a very close friend of mine got targeted by another girl in the fandom who continues to flame and insult her. Now mind you, my friend did NOTHING to this girl. However, being the mature one, my friend decided to just apologize anyways for whatever reason it was this girl was targeting her. My friend did NOT have to apologize, and quite honestly, I knew it would be a mistake if she did. True to what I believed to be true of this girl, she naturally refused to accept an apology from my friend because she thought she was too good to be seen taking one from the person she's been repeatedly flaming, AND she thought this would somehow "taint" her reputation if she did. That's pretty fucking sick if you ask me. And this girl claims SHE'S the mature one, when she can't even be bothered to accept an apology from somebody who didn't say or do shit to her. Pft.

Anyways, the point of my story is that I'm sick of the fandom. I'm sick of people who think they're "popular" taking advantage of other users and thinking they can get away with insulting whoever they'd like. This girl was 22 years old, couldn't spell worth shit, and most DEFINITELY was NOT the adult in that situation. Some people may know her from over on DA. She draws a rather popular ZADR comic that will otherwise remain nameless because I really don't care to promote her or her shitty comic. It's people like her though who have driven me and my friends away from the fandom. And people like her fans, who stupidly believe every lie coming out of her mouth without so much as LOOKING into the situation first, that leave me feeling like there's no hope for the future of the fandom.

Therefore, let it be known that I will be withdrawing myself from the fandom. My only reason for writing this story any longer is for my own personal amusement. Sorry if any of you find that selfish, but as a writer, my only goal is to strive towards bringing this story to some sort of completion. I don't expect people to fave, comment, support, or even like and read this story any longer if they don't want to. Of course, I've appreciated those of you who HAVE supported me up until this point, but don't feel obligated to continue if you don't want to. I'm continuing to write this regardless of what other people think because I enjoy writing about these characters and the Invader Zim universe.

I don't want drama, and I refuse to let myself be caught up in anymore confrontations surrounding the fandom. I don't think I necessarily have to consider myself as part of the fandom any longer just because I continue to post IZ literature either. Writing is, always has been, and always will be a passion of mine. What I choose to write about doesn't define me as a person. Therefore, I'd appreciate not being judged in such a way. I will admit, it WAS fun, at least in the beginning when things were less chaotic. But I think I'm ready to accept the fact that this fandom no longer defines me. I never really meant it to anyways. I'm posting for myself, and I don't really care if you people think of me as selfish for that.

For this reason, I will be stopping my responses to reviews here in the story. If you guys want to leave them, then by all means, please be my guest. I'll always appreciate feedback. Just don't expect a response back in the body of the story though. If I feel like responding back to somebody, I will do so directly via a private message. And if you guys would like any questions answered about what I see in the IZ universe that keeps me writing about it, please feel free to ask. =3 I may fill out of FAQ section somewhere in my profile for such questions since my imagination is endless and I've developed countless theories about the universe and its characters in the years I've been writing about them.

Don't consider me as part of the fandom any longer though. I write merely for fun now, nothing more, nothing less. =3

That said, I'll get to posting this next chapter now. It's your guys' choice whether you continue to follow or not. I'm not looking to gain fame from this though. Just finishing this story would be an accomplishment I'd be proud of in the long run. Especially considering how many times I've come close to just ending this story and not continuing.

ZADR Orange Chapter 101

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Blinking a bit at Zim's description of the treat, Rose very quickly pieced together in her head what the other was talking about. "Hmm? You mean rice crispy treats?" she asked before smiling. "Of course we can get some of those. Jack and I will just stop by the store on our way home and pick some up, unless you'd prefer homemade ones. They're really easy to make also."

Eyes shining, Zim grinned wide. "BRILLIANT!" he licked his lips, thinking about the tasty treats.

Rose could only laugh a bit at Zim's reaction. "I think it's obvious now where your smeets got their sweet tooth from."

Pouting a little, Zim blushed and looked away. "W-Well...Most Irkens like sweets."

"Not as much as you do, Zim." Purple spoke up, having entered the room, wanting to know what was going on. He hated being ignored.

Dib tensed slightly when Purple spoke before dropping his gaze away to somewhere else. He wasn't going to say anything to get on his bad side while he was there for Zim's sake. "...Zim eats more sweets than all three of these smeets combined..." Dib mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Heyyy~ I do not." Zim said, crossing his arms and pouting. "I swear, you're all against me."

"...Well, it's true..." Dib said, resting his arms on the table so he could pillow his head in them and close his eyes.

Walking over to Dib, Zim sighed. "Well...Maybe a little true..."

Purple spoke under his breath. "More like a lot..."

"I've seen you eat way more sweets over the years..."

"Oh, come on...No sympathy for Zim?!" Zim pouted again.

"...Sorry..." Dib apologized, antennae shuddering as he brought one arm up to drape over the back of his head, the other one still pillowing his head comfortably.

Zim sighed. "It's alright, Dib..." he leaned down and kissed him.

Dib couldn't help but pull away slightly from the kiss to the head. "Ow...No more..." he flinched back, bringing up his free arm to hold his head, antennae pressed back as far as possible.

"Dib? What's wrong?"

"My head is pounding...It hurts a lot right now..." Dib said, antennae twitching uncomfortably. It had hit him so suddenly.

Zim looked confused. "It is? That's weird..." he looked to Rose. "Any ideas?" he asked.

"Well, I would assume it's his unhealthy diet at the moment. He really should be trying to eat healthier foods, even if he's not craving them. Those smeets can't live off of fast food and sugar alone. And neither can Dib."

Zim blushed. "Sorry...This is my fault..." he turned to Dib. "Want to go back to bed?"

Nodding his head slowly, Dib had by now broken down into shivers. "...I don't know if I'll be able to fall asleep now though..."

"I think we'll start you on a healthier diet tomorrow, Dib." Rose said before turning to Zim. "But for now, I recommend getting him into bed and then bringing him something warm to drink. That should help him get to sleep faster. And no sugar this time. If you need something to sweeten it up, try honey instead."

Zim nodded. "Yes, Sir!" he saluted and carefully picked up Dib, cradling him in his arms as he carried him back to the bedroom.

"Wow...You seem to have control of everything here..." Purple said to Rose.

Smiling, Rose blushed and laughed into her hand. "Oh, no. I'm hardly in charge of what those two do except for when it comes to their well-being. Anyone can tell just by looking at them that they have no idea what they're doing, so Jack and I just wanted to help them until they've gotten the hang of it themselves. But Dib's still so young and Zim is just...Well, he's ZIM. I think he's more prepared for this than Dib is but could still use some help figuring it all out. Of course...Instinct will more than likely kick in once the smeets are born..."

Nodding, Purple sighed. "Yeah..."

Rose could only smile sadly at him. "Oh, I'll bet that someday soon you'll be having smeets of your own and do a wonderful job of taking care of them yourself." she said before pulling him into a small, reassuring embrace.

Bringing himself to hug her back, Purple sighed. "I wish..."

"Oooh...Don't doubt that it will happen. Just remember what we talked about earlier and I'm sure you'll be a great parent one day."

Purple smiled a little. "Okay..."

Rose smiled back. "Just hang in there. You already have the makings for a wonderful parent. I can tell. Maybe you could even give Zim and Dib some advice while you're staying with them. I'm certain they could use all the help in the world right now. Just think of yourself as...an uncle of sorts."

"Hmmm." Purple thought about it and grinned as he pictured several little smeets running around, calling him uncle Pur. "Just call me Uncle Pur!" he exclaimed.

Rose grinned wide. "You see?! That's the spirit! And you could think of it as...Well, let's just say practice for when you have your own. Prove to your mate that you have what it takes to take care of a smeet!" she said encouragingly.

"YEAH! That's what I'll do!" Purple grinned wide, feeling confident now.

Down in the bedroom, meanwhile, Dib trembled in the bed as Zim laid him down, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. "I-I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." he was breaking down now. He didn't know what was wrong with him today. As much as he wanted to blame hormones, it felt like something more than that.

Worried about him, Zim rubbed Dib's back gently. "It's okay, Dib. You can't help feeling bad. Are you alright?" he asked.

"I-I don't know...I don't know...I don't know..." Dib repeated over and over again, his antennae falling back and shuddering. "I don't know what's wrong with me...It's like I can't breathe a-and..." he shuddered as he felt something prickling at his skin uncomfortably.

"Dib? Dib, what's wrong?" Zim asked, his worry increasing. "What's happening?" he asked.

Shivers running up and down his body, Dib could only breathe out heavily, sweat building and rolling down his skin. He didn't know what was happening to him. He felt nauseous but for some reason excited at the same time, like he expected something to happen.

Zim looked at him terrified. "I-I...We need help. Come on...I don't want to leave you alone...M-Maybe Rose will know what's happening..." he said.

"No...I don't want to go back up there..." Dib shrunk back in the covers, holding his hands over his antennae. "Can't you just go back up there and get everybody to leave and then come back to bed? I...I just want to try and sleep it off..." he said as he felt his face flushing.

Zim watched Dib nervously. "O-Okay...I'll be really quick, okay? I'll only be gone a few minutes. I promise." he started backing away slowly, worried something would happen if he left.

His shivering continuing until the other had nearly left completely, Dib peeked his eyes open enough to watch Zim back his way out of the room. Then, as fast as it had hit him, it was gone and he could breathe again. "What...?" he panted out slowly as he tried to catch his breath again. "What happened...?" he swallowed thickly before bringing a hand up to hold his head. "Was it...Was it because of Zim...?" he asked himself once he was completely alone.

Zim rushed up the stairs as fast as he could. "Everybody out!" he shouted, waving his arms. "Dib wants to go to bed and wants everyone to leave!" he exclaimed.

All of them jumped slightly at the demand before looking back at Zim.

"W-Well...Alright then...B-But is everything okay?" Rose asked, noticing the look of panic on Zim's face.

"Does this mean you DO want me to stay over at Tak's base instead?" Purple then asked, blinking down at Zim confusedly.

"Uhh...Everything's fine. He's just tired. And, no. There's a spare room upstairs that you can stay in."

"W-Well...Okay then...I'll just go have a look for myself then." Purple said before leaving to find his room on his own.

"I guess we'll get going too then...We have to get the house ready and stop by the store to get a few things anyways...B-But please call us if anything comes up..." Rose said, sending Zim a slightly worried look. "Otherwise, we'll see you tomorrow for dinner..." she said.

"Oh, Zim. If you'd like to go out and get a ring for Dib, show up a little bit early though. We don't want to head out too late otherwise the stores might close. Is 3:00 alright with you?"

"Three is fine." Zim smiled a little as he started backing away. "We'll see you then."

Rose smiled back. "Alright. We'll be waiting. Take good care of Dib and the smeets until then." she waved before making her way to the front door with Jack to leave.

Waving a little as they left, Zim smiled before rushing back down to Dib.

Back down in the bedroom, Dib was sitting up in bed, waiting for Zim to return to see whether the other being around him caused his body to react the same way.

Panting heavily, Zim entered the room. "Okay, Dib. I sent everyone home. Are you feeling any better?" he asked.

Staring down at his own hands at this point, Dib lifted his gaze up to look at Zim. "Y-Yeah...I am, actually...I-It's like it-" he cut himself short as Zim approached, his body tensing back up suddenly and an indescribable heat rippling through his body from his head to his toes.

"Dib?" Zim came back to the bed and sat down next to him, feeling his forehead. "You're burning up...Dib, something's wrong." he said.

"Mmm..." Dib's antennae fell back at the other's touch. "I-I'll be fine...I-I just want to sleep..." he said, eyes squeezed tightly shut as he laid himself back down, a wave of heat washing over him like fire under his skin and his face flushing when Zim took a seat next to him. Surprisingly enough, the headache that had accompanied his discomfort earlier was beginning to leave.

Running a hand through Dib's hair, Zim nodded. "Okay. I'll be here for you, Dib-love." he kissed him gently. "Sleep well." he said.

His antennae twitching at the small kiss, Dib could only nod in response. It felt so strange to him, this feeling he was having. It wasn't what he could describe as unpleasant but rather satisfactory in a way, being so near Zim in that moment. He wanted to feel the other's touch despite how sensitive he was to it.

Zim smiled sweetly. "I think I'll take a nap with you." he slid under the covers and pulled them up over Dib.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 101. =3 Until next time~


	100. Chapter 102

ZADR Orange Chapter 102

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Hearing the Irken sigh out somewhat contently, Dib felt Zim curl himself around him. Another shiver ran though his body, ending at his antennae. He wanted more touch, closer, more intimate, regardless of the stinging heat that ran throughout his body whenever Zim was near.

Unaware of what Dib was going through, Zim closed his eyes blissfully.

Letting out an unsteady breath, Dib willed himself not to shake as he closed his eyes and panted out quietly, breathing out warm air against Zim's neck.

Wrapping an arm around Dib, Zim smiled and snuggled up close to him.

Zim's body now pressed flush against his own, Dib couldn't keep back the small gasp that escaped him. "Mmm...Z-Zim..." he said.

Zim opened his eyes. "Yes, Dib?" he asked.

Jolting at the other's words, Dib's eyes snapped wide open to blink at Zim blankly. "U-Ummm...H-Have a nice nap..." he tried to cover up his small whimper so the Irken wouldn't realize it had been a moan he had let out when he had said his name. It had just slipped out that way, though why, he had no idea as he swallowed thickly and closed his eyes to regain his composure.

Rubbing Dib's side comfortingly, Zim smiled. "You too."

Dib spoke under his breath. "...I'll try..." he murmured so Zim wouldn't hear him before returning his face to the other's neck for comfort as he just wanted to fall asleep now before anything else escaped his mouth.

Sighing into his hair, Zim nuzzled Dib and rubbed his side, deciding to hold Dib close till he fell asleep.

Trying to keep from running his hands beneath Zim's shirt just so he could feel the Irken's skin more fully, Dib breathed out shakily against the other's skin.

Dib kept himself from touching Zim regardless of whether he could sleep or not, just waiting for the Irken to fall asleep first.

Finally, Zim sighed. "What's wrong, Dib? You're normally asleep by now..."

Clinging to Zim, Dib managed to slow his breathing down somewhat to a more steady rhythm, shifting in just a bit closer for more contact. "...Nothing..." he managed to say in a way that wouldn't cause Zim to question him any further on it. "I guess I'm just not tired yet...I just want to lay here for a while, okay?" he said, more than content to just watch the other sleep.

Zim nodded. "Well, okay then..."

Nodding his own head, Dib lifted his gaze up enough to look Zim in the eyes before dropping it again to slowly and softly press a kiss to Zim's collar bone, the skin there soft against his lips, leaving behind a sweet taste in his mouth. It was as far as he would allow himself to go.

Kissing the top of his head, Zim yawned and nuzzled Dib. "Would you mind if I went ahead and slept? You got me all tired..." he said.

Dib shook his head in response. "Go ahead...I'd like that...To watch you, I mean...It'd be nice rather than you watching me sleep...You get to do that every night...This time...I want to watch you..." he said between steady, heavy breaths.

Zim smiled. "Alright then. Good night." he yawned again and fell asleep.

Watching as Zim fell asleep, Dib waited until the other was completely out before responding back in a quiet voice. "...Night..." he said before blushing and leaning forward to kiss Zim's forehead. For some reason, things suddenly felt easier for him, having the Irken asleep. He wasn't as tempted to touch the other as much as he laid parallel to him and just watched as he slept, hours passing, one right after the other until it was nearly 5:00 in the morning.

Feeling his sleep giving way, Zim yawned and whined, not wanting to wake up yet.

Antennae perking only the tiniest bit at the yawn and bit of movement, Dib otherwise didn't respond, too tired from spending the night watching Zim sleep. He had been watching Zim for well over 6 hours now but hadn't been able to lull himself into a comfortable sleep of his own. That wasn't to say he wasn't comfortable just lying there watching Zim sleep however. In fact, he actually felt more at peace now than he had in a long time, despite the sparks of heat still jolting through his body from Zim's closeness.

Hoping to stay asleep, Zim snuggled closer to Dib.

Watching Zim struggle to remain asleep through barely open eyes, Dib leaned his head forward enough to nuzzle one of his warm cheeks to Zim's comfortably, blinking his eyes slowly and finding it harder to keep them open the longer he continued to watch the other. Then, when he thought he couldn't keep them open any longer, he finally let them slip closed to sleep, his antennae twitching against Zim's.

Feeling Dib next to him, Zim smiled in his sleep.

Slipping into a deep sleep within a matter of minutes, the next few hours went by with little to no disruptions as Dib's antennae subconsciously wrapped themselves around Zim's, sending small jolts of electricity all throughout his body, causing his fingers to twitch in his sleep.

Enjoying the touch, Zim purred loudly in his sleep. Zim's loud purring not disrupting his sleep at all, Dib just continued to sleep on while Zim pulled him closer, wrapping his loose limbs around Dib.

The other's cool skin against his own doing little to relieve the fire dancing under the surface of his own skin, Dib couldn't help but gasp softly in his sleep as the heat increased again in a painfully addictive way. "Ah...Zim..." he panted out in his sleep, his breath catching in the back of his throat.

Wanting more contact, Dib tried to push himself closer to the Irken, needing to feel his body flush against Zim's as he wrapped his legs tightly around the other's body. "Ah!" he felt the heat radiating to a few key spots in his body, his face flushing as it traveled up towards the tips of his antennae and knees shaking as the area between his legs felt as though it were pulsating.

Squirming around, Zim's shirt slipped up, exposing skin.

Instantly jolting awake when he felt the bare skin of Zim's abdomen pressing flush against his extended belly, Dib tried to pull back when he realized what he was doing. It had suddenly become too painful for him as his body began to break down into violent shivers, his stomach especially sensitive now as he tried to catch his breath. He could only take so much heat as every touch suddenly became all too sensitive. He still had that craving to be near Zim, but he had to cool down first and recover before he went any further.

Whining at the loss of Dib, Zim pulled closer.

The Irken wrapping his legs around him, Dib tried to push away again when Zim scooted in closer but just ended up being pulled back instead, his hips meeting Zim's and pressing up tightly against them, causing the boy to gasp out loudly and squeeze his legs together the best he could to prevent anymore friction between them.

Unaware of what Dib was going through, Zim slept on innocently.

Wanting to pull away but unable to escape Zim's hold on him, Dib could only let out a small whine as Zim was breathing heavily on his antennae now.

The area between his legs becoming slightly wet with his juices now as the heat just continued to pulsate in that one spot, Dib felt his knees shaking more and more unsteadily at the cool air brushing past the sensitive tips of his antennae. "Ooooohhh..." he couldn't help the small groan that escaped him.

"Hmm...~" Zim sighed in his sleep, smiling. He was having a very good dream about himself and Dib.

Making another attempt to pull away after a few moments, Dib struggled quite a bit but to no avail as his whining turned to a whimper and then a small sob.

Slowly opening his eyes, Zim yawned. "Mmm...Good morning, Dib..." he said.

Wiping his eyes with his hands and shivering, Dib was by this point curled in on himself a bit. He was still so tired. He may as well have stayed up the entire night. And his body felt like it was on fire, his embarrassment over how turned on he was only making it worse.

Tiredly, Zim looked up at Dib. "You okay?" he asked.

Sniffling wetly, Dib wiped the last of his tears out of his eyes. "...I-I'm fine..." his voice was slightly strained, the Irken still clinging tightly to him, causing him quite a bit of discomfort.

Not believing him but also not wanting to start another fight, Zim looked away momentarily. "Well, okay...You hungry?" he asked.

Dib could only shake his head. "No..." he didn't bring his gaze up to meet Zim's as he just curled in on himself a bit more. "Go ahead and eat...I'll wait until later..." he said, not wanting to move from that spot.

"Are you sure, Dib?" Zim stroked his head, fingering his antennas.

His antennae twitching before falling back to escape the other's fingers, Dib could only flinch back a bit at Zim's touch. "I'm sure...I'm not very hungry right now. And I don't want to eat anything that's going to make me lose my appetite before dinner tonight..." he said.

Zim pouted. "Well, okay...Do you mind if I get something to eat though? Will you be alright alone?" he asked.

"I'll be fine...Go ahead and get whatever you want. Take as long as you want. I think I'm going to be taking a bath soon anyways..." Dib said, the thought of a cool bath relaxing him somewhat. It would hopefully help him with ALL the problems he was having right then.

Zim sighed. "Alright then..." he got out of bed and headed upstairs.

Sighing out in some relief, Dib waited until Zim had left completely before stumbling out of bed unsteadily to drag himself to the bathroom for a bath. He needed to get away, even if only for a little while. So making his way into the bathroom, he closed the door behind him and locked it, hoping it would be enough to prevent those feelings from coming back were Zim to return back downstairs quickly after grabbing a bite to eat. Then, starting up a cool gel bath, he stripped down completely, the loss of clothes already a relief as he began to cool off. But he couldn't help but notice the sticky residue of his juices from when they had dripped down to right between his legs.

Making a sandwich upstairs, Zim sighed heavily. "I hope Dib's okay..." he shook his head. "I should use this time to look stuff up...COMPUTER!" he exclaimed.

"Whaaat?"

"Bring me information on the human ritual of marriage."

Sighing out heavily, the computer brought up the requested information.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 102. =3 Until next time~


	101. Chapter 103

ZADR Orange Chapter 103

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Reading through some of the information the computer had brought up for him about marriage, Zim groaned as he was already becoming confused with it all. "Uhh...Is it really that complicated?" he said, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Is what that complicated?" Purple asked, walking into the kitchen and stifling a yawn. "What are you looking at?" he asked, coming up behind Zim to have a look for himself, dressed in a white and purple robe.

"I'm not sure if you should know. You're not good at keeping secrets."

"Whaaat?" Purple whined, taking hold of Zim's arm and shaking it a bit. "Awww, come on, Zim! I can keep a secret! Tell me what you're looking at! If it's a secret you're keeping from your mate, it's not like we've really talked all that much since I've been here! Come on! Tell me! I promise not to say anything to him! I don't even think he likes me that much to begin with! Come ooooon! Pleeeeeaaaaseeeee!" he begged.

Zim groaned. "Alright, FINE! But you BETTER not tell him ANYTHING!" he said before looking back at the screen. "I'm looking up information for an Earth ritual called marriage." he said.

"Hmmm? Marriage? What's that? Some kind of mating ritual these humans perform? Or perhaps something they do after conceiving a smeet? And why is it a secret if you're both supposed to take part in it?"

"I want to surprise him with the offer. That's part of the ritual too...I have to do something special to get his attention and then get on my knees and offer a ring. If he takes it, we can finish the ritual later on. From what I can figure though, it is what humans do when they REALLY love someone and want the rest of the planet to know that they are mates and can belong to no one else."

"Oooh! So it's a planetary thing! Does that mean these humans have some place special on this planet that they all meet when two mates take part in this ritual? Or do they travel to a completely different planet to perform it? Like how we travel to Conventia whenever we have a planetary event?"

"I don't really know...I hope not..." Zim shuddered. "Dib would die with that many eyes on him at once..." he said.

"Hmm? He doesn't like the attention? Well, what about those two humans who were over here? You know, his parental units. Have you asked them about it? They seemed mated to me. They must know about what you're planning to do. Why not just ask them if you don't know the specifics of this ritual?"

"I've gotten a little information from them already. But I have to wait until after dinner tonight before I can get more."

"Dinner? What dinner? Are they coming back over here again tonight? Do they come over here every night?"

"No, we're going over to their house. Jack said you could come too."

"Oh...Okay..." Purple said before falling silent and sinking into a chair to play with his fingers nervously, his gaze fixed on them. "Do you want me to go?" he then asked.

"...If you want to go...I don't want you to be stuck in my house with Gir..."

"Okay...If you and your mate don't mind...I'll try not to get in your way too much..."

Zim smiled. "You're not in the way now."

Lifting his gaze up, Purple looked at Zim. "I'm...not...? But I thought my being here was getting on both your nerves..."

"You just got here, Pur."

"Well, you didn't look very happy about it yesterday...And I don't need your mate to tell me he doesn't like me to know he doesn't...I can tell just by the look on his face whenever I walk into the room. Not that I can blame him when Red's the one who can't get over our past relationship."

Not knowing what to say, Zim sighed.

"Your mate hates me, Red acts like he hates me, and you...I don't really know what you think of me now...You have to know it wasn't easy for me to come here though...Not when I know full well there's a chance that you may hate me too..."

"I don't hate you, Purple...I couldn't."

"If you don't hate me, then what do you think of me now?" Purple's gaze turned serious as he stared back at Zim. He was afraid to hear the other's answer but knew he wouldn't be able to leave without knowing.

"..." Zim sighed. "You're a friend. You watch out for me...I love you like a brother...But nothing more than that...I'm sorry..."

"Don't be...That's all I wanted...I just...wanted to know that at least SOMEBODY cared...When I thought you had stopped caring, that's when I started really wanting to try for a smeet..."

"I never stopped caring..."

"I wish I could say the same thing about Red..." Purple said, his antennae drooping.

Shaking his head, Zim sighed. "Red's not going to care about anything until he knows I'm dead..."

Purple sighed also. "...And so I question why I've stayed with him for so long..."

"You love him."

"I must be crazy to love somebody who doesn't show his love back to me..."

"No, not really...I liked Dib before all this happened...And I think he liked me..."

"But there's no way for me to tell whether Red loves me back...He says he does but then goes off and does stupid things that make me upset...Words don't mean anything if you can't show it in your actions..."

Zim nodded. "I know...Well, there is an old Earth saying...Absence makes the heart grow fonder...Maybe he'll miss you."

"If he even realizes I'm gone...Ever since he stopped talking to me, we haven't seen much of each other on the Massive...For all I know, he may think I'm just avoiding him..."

"Oh, don't say that..."

"But it's true! He knows I'm mad at him for ignoring me! And the Massive is a huge ship! For all he knows, I could just be hiding out in a room somewhere on it!...And he wouldn't even care..."

"He WILL care, Pur..."

Purple sighed out heavily. "I'll believe that when I see it..."

"I hope you see it soon..."

"Is it even worth it to hope...? To put so much faith in a relationship that went wrong long ago?"

"It's always worth it, Pur..." Zim stood up in his chair to pat Purple on the head.

Purple sighed. "Okay...I'll give him until I've returned to the Massive. But if things haven't changed by then, then we're over and I'm moving on with my life."

Zim sighed. "Alright then."

"Zim, if he's not willing to change then I can't spend the rest of my life chasing after him..."

"Then don't...He's losing more than he realizes."

Purple sighed. "I just wish I could convince myself that he's losing more than I am..." his antennae drooped.

"Oh, come on, Pur. He's a worthless bastard if he can't realize how amazing you are."

"He wasn't always like this though!" Purple broke into tears, wiping at his eyes. "So I have to assume it must have been something -I- did to make him this way!" he exclaimed.

"No! No, it wasn't you...I-It was me..."

"Don't say that! Please, don't say that...It's not you...It's not you...It's me...B-Because it took me so long to let go..."

Zim sighed. "No, it's Red. He never let it go at all...And he's causing everyone to suffer because of it." he said.

"And so it just becomes one big cycle, the blame constantly returning back to all of us. But I don't want that anymore. I just want it all to stop! Because it hurts you, it hurts Red, and it hurts me...And no matter what I do to try and stop it, I always seem to make it worse..."

"Then don't try. Let what happens happen..." Zim shrugged. "You hungry?" he asked.

Resting his head in his arms, Purple slumped down in his seat a bit. "No...Not really..." he said.

Zim sighed. "Well, I came up to eat breakfast...I think Dib is sick..."

"Hmm?" Purple lifted an antenna. "What makes you think that?" he asked.

"Well...He's so clammy and sweaty...And he's blushing a lot...And seems to be having trouble breathing because he's panting a lot too..."

"Well, maybe it's a pregnancy symptom. You could ask later tonight whether that's normal."

Zim nodded. "Hey, maybe it is..." he smiled, feeling much better now. "Thanks, Pur." he said.

"No problem. After all, it's not like it's something he was having problems with until after he became pregnant, right?"

"That's true...But he has been pregnant for a while...Maybe he is sick..."

Purple shrugged. "Well, have you tried giving him anything for it? Like medicine just in case." he asked.

"No...He won't take medicine."

"What? Why? If he's not feeling well and medicine would be good for him, why wouldn't he take it?"

"He is afraid it will harm the smeets..."

"Eh? Well, that's stupid. How could something that's supposedly good be harmful?"

"I don't know...Apparently Earth medicines are as harmful as they are helpful."

"Well, that doesn't make any sense. How about Irken medicines? Have you tried giving him any of those? You could probably just sneak it into his food or something without him ever knowing."

"I don't want to do that to him! What if he found out?! He'd never trust me again!"

Purple could only shrug at that. "Even if it was for his own good? Or you could have somebody else do it instead so he wouldn't blame you if he ever found out." he said, just trying to offer the other suggestions.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 103. =3 Until next time~


	102. Chapter 104

ZADR Orange Chapter 104

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Furrowing his brows at Purple's suggestion, Zim could only shake his head in response to it a moment later. "But he would. I would have to ask someone...He just doesn't want medicine, and I can't make him take it if he doesn't want to." he said before bringing his gaze back to Purple.

"Well then, I hope for both your sakes he's not sick if he won't take anything."

Swallowing nervously, Zim nodded.

"Aren't there other things you could do for him if he's sick that don't involve giving him medicine? Like feed him certain foods that are supposedly healthy."

"Hey, YEAH! Humans have all kinds of healthy foods!"

"You should try feeding him some of those then. That way he won't be afraid of hurting the smeets from eating them."

Zim nodded. "I think we have some fruit and stuff around here too."

"Will he eat that though?"

"He should...Rose said he needed better food then junk..."

"Then maybe that's why he's been acting so strange lately. It could all just be his diet rather than just being sick. Though I don't see how snacks could be so bad for him when he's part Irken now...I've been eating snacks my whole life and I never got sick from them once."

"Well...Maybe it's the smeets. Maybe they don't like snacks."

"But weren't you already feeding him snacks for a long time without any problems? Why would they suddenly reject the snacks? They're more Irken than even he is, so shouldn't they be even better for them than they would be for him?"

Zim groaned. "Look! I don't know! I just want breakfast!" he whined and tugged on his antennas.

Only able to blink at Zim in response, Purple then looked away. "Then just eat breakfast already. You've been holding that half-eaten sandwich for nearly half an hour now." he said, gesturing to the sandwich in the other's hand.

Having forgotten already that he had it, Zim frowned a little and took another bite of his sandwich.

When it became all too silent for him, Purple finally stood up from the table. "Well, I'm going to get changed into some more comfortable clothes." he said before heading back for the room he'd been staying in while on Earth. "Enjoy your sandwich and marri-whatever you called it." he said, referring to the marriage information Zim had been looking at earlier. He wouldn't mind a warm bath either seeing as how he had been too tired last night to take one after his journey there.

Zim nodded a little. "If you need anything, tell the computer and it will either bring it to you or tell you where to find it." he called after the other.

"Alright." Purple said before returning to his room, leaving Zim alone in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, back down in the underground bathroom, Dib was now reclining comfortably in a tub of cooling gel, having dozed off quite a while ago, finally comfortable enough to get some much needed sleep now that he was away from Zim.

Deciding to go check on Dib, Zim finished his sandwich.

When there came a sudden knocking on the bathroom door, Dib jolted slightly awake. "Huh? Wha-?" he blinked his eyes slowly open and looked about the room, bringing a hand up to rub at one of them as he stretched in the tub, now wondering how long he had been asleep for.

"Dib? Are you okay in there?"

Looking over in the direction of the door, Dib sat himself up a bit more. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine." he called back to the other. "Just...soaking for a bit..." he said.

Behind the door, Zim nodded. "Okay then. I was just checking on you...You might want to change the gel though. You could get sick if you sit in a cold tub for too long." he said.

"A-Alright then." Dib said, deciding not to tell Zim he had set it cold to begin with on purpose. To him, the cold gel had been a welcome relief after the night he'd had, and it proved to be cooling him off efficiently enough.

Going to lay down on the bed, Zim smiled. "I'll be out here waiting for you. Take your time though!" he called out to the other.

Listening to Zim's footsteps walking away from the door, Dib finally responded to the other's words after a moment or two. "Okay!" he called back loud enough for the Irken to hear him. Then, sinking back down into the tub, he felt slightly torn between staying in now and getting out so Zim wouldn't have to wait. He was certain now that is was Zim making his skin prickle with heat every time he went near the other, but he wasn't sure why or how to get it to stop.

Meanwhile, Zim was reclining happily on the bed. "Dib sounds like he's feeling a lot better. Maybe there isn't anything wrong at all." he said to himself.

Taking a deep breath and deciding to get out after about another 10 minutes in the tub, Dib hoped the soak would help in keeping him cool for an hour or two afterwards while he was around Zim. Patting himself only slightly dry with the towel, he then drained the tub and wrapped it around himself before heading back into the bedroom to get a fresh change of clothes.

Smiling wide, Zim had fallen asleep on the bed.

Not wanting to wake Zim, Dib peeked into the room before slowly taking a few quiet steps inside. Noticing the bag of clothes they had bought over in a corner of the room, he then walked over to it. Figuring Zim must have brought them down for him to have in the bedroom, he started searching through the bag for a pair of pants and shirt he could wear, his antennae twitching slightly all the while, just the tiniest ripple of heat beginning to warm him again.

Balling up, Zim mumbled in his sleep, snuggling Dib's pillow happily.

Glancing back at the sleeping Zim after finding a shirt and some pants to wear, Dib looked around to make sure they were completely alone. Then, hesitating a moment, he dropped his towel down onto the ground to get dressed quickly, not wanting to be caught naked.

Slowly cracking an eye open, one of Zim's antennas twitched. "Mmm...Dib?" he asked.

Tensing up in his spot facing away from Zim, Dib stopped in his tracks, eyes growing wide and antennae perking as he only had his pants halfway up his legs, causing him to suddenly scramble for the towel. But he only managed to get himself tangled up and trip over himself, landing flat on his stomach.

Quickly, Zim sat up. "Dib, are you okay?!" he exclaimed, hopping off the bed and rushing to help his love.

"No! Don't look! Don't look!" Dib exclaimed, still struggling to pull the pants on, so horribly embarrassed now. The pants weren't like his old pants, and he was having trouble getting them on, especially while still partially wet. They were tight around the bottom with only really the waist allowing stretching.

Tilting his head to the side, Zim paused. "Dib, what's wrong? Here, let me help you." he said, coming up behind Dib and helping him up, kissing his cheek and tugging his pants up for him. "You don't have to be embarrassed around me." he said.

About to protest the other's helping, Dib stopped himself, his antennae perking straight up at Zim's touch as that earlier fire encompassed his body yet again, only serving to make his blush all the more worse. And Zim's soft lips against his cheek had his entire body shuddering with excitement.

Once he got his pants pulled up, Zim nuzzled him. "There. Was that so hard?" he said.

The nuzzle making him squirm, Dib flinched back slightly. "Yes...I don't like these pants..." he said, not used to wearing woman's clothing after so many years of wearing looser-fitting ones. These pants didn't come up all that far, making him feel uncomfortable, like they would slip at any point despite how tight they were.

Unaware of his uncomfortable state, Zim sighed and kissed him. "Well, wear them for today and we'll get you new ones later, okay?" he said.

Eyes squeezed tightly shut, Dib only continued to squirm about even more, merely nodding his head and hoping Zim would let go of him soon. He wanted to escape the heat and undeniably uncomfortable pleasure the other's closeness was making him feel.

Pulling away to let Dib finish getting dressed, Zim sighed. "Want to head over when you're dressed? Or wait a little while?" he asked.

Panting heavily again, Dib sighed out somewhat relieved when Zim pulled away before blinking up at the other. "Wh-Whatever you feel like doing..." he said before shakily pushing himself up to finish getting dressed, buttoning up the pants and pulling his shirt over his head so he could pull it down over his extended belly and smooth it out, the shirt doing its job of slimming him down somewhat and hiding the bulge in his stomach fairly well though it was obvious it was somewhat big on him.

Zim smiled. "You look skinny already." he leaned forward and kissed Dib lightly. "Why don't we go now?" he said.

Antennae twitching almost wildly, Dib blushed at the small kiss, everything in his body making him want to press up against Zim yet pull away at the same time. It was like he couldn't decide which would make him feel better. "O-Okay..." he agreed, nodding slowly and following Zim to the elevator.

Happy, Zim held out his hand to take Dib's. "Come on, love." he said.

Biting down on his bottom lip at the hand being offered to him, Dib hesitantly took it, antennae falling back at the wave of heat washing over him from the small touch before squeezing it tightly in his own hand, the soft skin of Zim's hand making his eyelids flutter closed as he tried to keep himself steady and slowly walked into the elevator next to Zim.

Pulling Dib close, Zim smiled. "I'm glad you're feeling better today, Dib. I was worried we'd have to find you some medicine." he said, the elevator moving up and Zim staying as he was, very close to Dib.

Breathing heavily and slowly, eyes half lidded now, Dib lazily lifted his gaze back up to look at Zim, his vision no longer all that focused. "Medicine...?" he repeated the word almost distantly. "But the smeets..." he cut off his sentence to drop his gaze back down to the ground.

"I know." Zim sighed. "But I would never give you something that would hurt them."

Dib only shook his head. "No...I don't want any..." he shook slightly, antennae falling back as he closed his eyes. He wasn't listening to what Zim was saying as his focus faded back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Nodding, Zim sighed. "I figured you'd say that. So I thought we could just get you some healthy human foods." he said as the elevator dinged and the doors opened to the kitchen.

"Anything but medicine..." Dib said, suddenly wanting to let go of Zim's hand and pull away. But before he would let himself do that, he pulled himself back to reality at the ding of the elevator and took a deep breath to calm himself back down, just then realizing he had been letting his mind get the better of him, something he blamed on the lack of sleep the night before.

Zim nodded. "Yeah..." he let go of Dib to let him out of the elevator and followed him to the door. "Ready?" he asked.

Letting his breath out slowly at Zim letting go of his hand, Dib looked about the room. "Is your leader not coming with us?" he asked. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Zim's leader since last night and didn't even know whether said Irken was staying with them any longer or not, though knowing Zim, he assumed the other must have offered him a room somewhere in the base.

"I'm not sure..." Zim looked up. "Computer, is the Tallest joining us today?" he asked, wanting to know before they left without him.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 104. =3 Until next time~


	103. Chapter 105

A/N: And so approaches the start of a new year. Sorry for the bit of a wait on this next chapter, you guys. I needed to take a step back from the fandom for a while after everything that happened in recent months. Figured the new year would be a good time to pick things back up. So lots of love and appreciation to those who read/sent in reviews the past month or so. I appreciate the continued support, even though I was on a bit of a hiatus for a while there. I'm happy to say I plan on picking things back up again tomorrow however and trying to provide more regular updates. =3 So I hope you guys enjoy this quick chapter I have to post, as well as the future ones to come starting tomorrow. ^^

ZADR Orange Chapter 105

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

In its usual, monotonous voice, the computer responded back to Zim's words. "How should I know? Why don't you ask him yourself? He's still in his room." it said lazily, not wanting to have to really answer Zim's question.

Zim sighed. "FINE! Worthless piece of junk...I'll be right back, Dib." he kissed his cheek before heading to the spare room.

Watching as Zim left, Dib sighed out in complete relief, the heat taking over his body leaving just as quickly as it had hit him, causing his legs to shake somewhat unsteadily as he gave in and fell to his knees before attempting to recover.

In Purple's room, Purple, meanwhile, reclined on the bed in his room, flipping through the channels of a small intergalactic television he had brought with him and set up on a dresser across from the bed. When there came a knock on the door, he lifted an antenna curiously. "Come on in!" he called to whoever it was on the other end of the door, though he was fairly sure he already knew who that was.

Zim stepped into the room quietly. "Hey, Pur. Dib and I are leaving for Jack's and Rose's house. Are you going to come with us?" he asked.

Raising his other antenna, Purple sat up in the bed. "Already?" he asked, looking around the room as though in search of a clock. "Does your mate care whether I come...?" he then asked, bringing his gaze back to look at Zim seriously, wanting the truth from the other. "Or would he rather I stayed?" he asked.

"Well, he WAS the one who reminded me to ask if you were going to come. I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Zim grinned wide, oblivious.

"Hmmm...Well, maybe...If he really doesn't mind..." Purple said, hesitantly sitting up more to turn off the TV and follow Zim out into the living room.

"Hmm...Do you need a disguise though...? It's pretty obvious that YOU aren't human...But they ARE stupid creatures..."

"But isn't your mate part human? And his parental units too?"

"Well, they are different. But in general, most humans are stupid."

"So then...Do you think I need one to walk to their dwelling place with you and your mate?"

"Hmm...Well, maybe just a hat." Zim nodded assuredly.

"A hat? Well, alright then...If you say so...Do you even have one though?" Purple asked as he followed Zim into the living room where Dib was waiting for them, having moved from his spot on the ground to the couch, sitting with his gaze fixed on his lap.

When he heard Zim returning with Purple, Dib's antennae twitched and he lifted his gaze to look at the both of them.

"Well...I have ONE. COMPUTER! FETCH ME THE HOBO-HAT!"

"The Hobo-hat?" Purple sent Zim a strange look as the computer retrieved the hat for Zim and dropped it into his hands.

Zim held it up to him. "Here." he smiled as he offered the ratty, floppy hat. "It will hide your antennae."

Taking it with a slightly disgusted look on his face, Purple squeezed one eye shut. "Err...Thanks...I think..." he said before putting it on over his antennae. "What about you? Aren't you going to wear a disguise too?" he asked.

"Oh...Well, I don't like wearing mine..." Zim said before glancing back at Dib and sighing, pulling it out and putting it on anyways.

The boy's own focus on his lap again, Purple glanced over at Dib for a moment, a small amount of shaking detectable to him as he watched the hybrid a few moments before returning his gaze to back to in front of him.

Zim sighed. "There. This is my disguise." he smiled a little before turning to Dib and laughing lightly. "Did you get tired?"

Lifting his gaze to look back up at Zim, Dib felt his antennae twitch again. "Maybe just a little...But I'll be fine..." he said with very little emotion in his voice as he slowly pushed himself back up onto his feet to stand.

Zim watched Dib worriedly. "You sure you don't want some help?" he asked.

"I'm fine...You don't need to worry about me..." Dib said, walking past the other to get the door so they could head out already, trying to keep from having any physical contact with Zim until they got there and he could sit down, worried he may not be able to stand were Zim to get too close to him at this point.

Thinking Dib was mad at him, Zim visibly drooped. "O-Okay..." he followed him out of the house.

Noticing this also, Purple came up behind Zim to tug at his shirt lightly. "A-Are you sure you don't want me to stay here?" he asked, in a whisper to the other.

"Of course not. Rose and Jack would LOVE for you to come."

"But I don't think your mate is all too happy about it..." Purple whispered, pointing at Dib's back, which was facing them as they walked. "I think he's mad at you...b-because of me..." he said, his antennae drooping. "And I don't want him to be mad at you because of me..." he said.

"No...It's okay." Zim stated in a way that showed he wanted to drop the subject.

About to protest again, Purple stopped himself, sighing out quietly as he followed behind Zim silently now. "I'm sorry..." he apologized, knowing his being there was putting a strain on Zim's and Dib's relationship.

Intent on just following Dib to Jack and Rose's house, Zim didn't respond.

Not even waiting for either Zim or Purple to catch up, Dib reached Rose's and Jack's house within a matter of minutes before making his way up to the door to knock on it.

Answering the door after a moment or two, Rose smiled at seeing Dib. "Oh, Dib! You're so..." she cut herself off, smile falling away when Dib just shuffled into the house ahead of Zim and Purple, antennae pressed to the back of his head uncomfortably and face flushed. Looking up, she saw Zim and Purple slowly approaching. "U-Ummm...Did something happen?" she asked.

Zim shrugged. "I don't know...He's been avoiding me all day..." he said quietly. "He doesn't like me touching him anymore..." he then said.

"Well, that's strange. Did he say why? Because he's fairly open most of the time about what's bugging him."

"It's because of me! He's mad because I'm here! I know it!" Purple exclaimed, fairly upset now.

"No, Dib's not like that." Zim insisted, clenching his fists. "It's something else. I just need to find out what..." he said.

"Well, have you tried just asking him? Maybe he'll tell you what's wrong with him if you do. It just doesn't seem like Dib to keep something like that to himself."

"Well...No, I haven't...Usually he just tells me..."

Rose sighed. "Well, if you're not going to ask him, then I will." she said, turning to head for the kitchen where Dib had taken refuge, Zim and Purple following behind her. Walking in, she found Dib sitting rather uncomfortably in one of the chairs. "Dib?" she approached him slowly, reaching out a hand to touch him softly. "Dib, is everything alright?" she asked, walking up to stand next to him before kneeling down in front of him, his facial expression less than a happy one, tired if anything. "Hmm? Are you feeling alright, Dib?" she asked, reaching up her hands to feel his face, his cheeks first then his forehead. Dib wasn't responding save for wincing back at the small touch. "Oh, Dib..." she pulled him into a small hug before turning to look back at Zim worriedly. "Zim, he's burning up." she said.

Zim's eyes widened. "I KNEW he was sick! I just knew it!" he whined, tugging on his antennas. "He needs medicine." he said.

"No! I don't want any! It will hurt the smeets!" Dib struggled against Rose a bit, trying to pull away.

Holding him in place however, Rose refused to let go of him. "Calm down, Dib! It's alright! It's alright..." he voice grew soft. "Nobody's going to make you take any medicine...It's alright..." she said, urging him to stand up from the chair with her. "Come on. I'm bringing you upstairs to sleep in the guest bedroom for a while." she said, wrapping an arm around the frazzled Dib to lead him upstairs.

Sighing, Zim wilted. "So that's the problem then..." he said, assuming the problem was that Dib was sick and thought he was going to force him to take medicine.

Hearing the doorbell ring just as she was leading Dib past the door to head upstairs, Rose sighed. "Just one moment, Dib, okay?" she said, letting go of him to get the door. "Oh! Lily!" she squealed happily, pulling her older sister into a hug before kneeling down to greet her two nieces and one nephew, the oldest girl about 16, the younger one about 6, and the little boy about 5. "Blaze! Kira! Come give your aunt Rose a hug." she pulled the giggling young girl and boy into her arms before standing up to hug the oldest girl. "You're just in time. Jack is in the back yard and could use some help getting set up." she said to her sister, Dib all the while remaining hidden behind her, the older girl's eyes glued on him.

"Who are you?" the older daughter asked, staring blankly at Dib.

"Umm...Uh..." Dib suddenly became very flustered, Zim not having told him Jack and Rose were having other people over too.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Rose pulled Dib forward. "This is Dib. Dib, these are my nieces and nephew. And that there is my sister." she said, pointing to Lily.

Nodding her head, the older daughter stuck out her hand. "Hi, I'm Stella." she said.

Glancing up at Rose, Dib hesitated to take the hand before reaching out to shake it. "H-Hi..." he said, not making eye contact with her.

Stella kept eying him. 'Hmm. He's kind of cute...if a bit chubby.' she thought. "So you're about my age, aren't you? You look like you would be." she said.

"Well, yes, actually. He's 16. Same age as you, Stella."

Stella grinned wide. "Really?" she took her hand from Dib's, crossing them behind her back. "Would you like to sit next to me during dinner, Dib?" she asked.

"U-Ummm...W-Well, I...Umm..." Dib looked up at Rose for help.

"We'll see about that later, hun. Dib is running quite a fever right now, so I'm just going to get him upstairs into bed for a few hours." Rose said, placing her hands on Dib's shoulders and pulling him back towards her.

Stella pouted a little. "Well, alright." she said before grinning. "But I'm still sitting next to you." she said.

His back pressed against Rose, Dib could only blink back at her nervously.

Rose looked down at him. "Come on, Dib. Let's get you upstairs into bed." she said before leading him over to the stairs. "Lily, you and the kids can head into the kitchen for now. I'll be right down in just a few minutes." she said before walking Dib up the stairs to the spare bedroom they had.

Sighing, Zim, meanwhile, was sitting in a chair in the kitchen. "Things are not looking good..." he said, hoping he and Jack could leave soon. He really just wanted Dib to be happy.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 105. =3 Until next time~


	104. Chapter 106

ZADR Orange Chapter 106

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Entering the kitchen with her kids, Lily stopped when she saw Zim and Purple sitting at the table. "O-Oh, hello, we seem to be meeting a lot of new people today. Who are you?" she asked, sending them both a friendly smile.

Not looking up, Zim sighed out wearily. "I am Zim." he said.

Looking up, Purple waved a little. "I'm Purple." he said.

"Hmm, well that certainly is a strange name. I like it." Lily smiled as Jack walked into the room a few moments later.

"Oh, hey, Lily!" Jack smiled at her.

"Jack!" Lily excitedly threw her arms around him. "Oooh...It's been so long since I last saw you." she said.

Jack laughed. "Well, you know you're welcome here anytime, right?" he said.

"Yes, we know. We were just talking to your friends here." Lily said, gesturing to Zim and Purple sitting at the table.

Jack turned to look at them. "Oh, Zim, Purple, I didn't even see you there! I'm sorry. Hey, where's Dib?" he asked, looking about the room.

Again, Zim sighed. "Sick...Rose took him to take a nap."

"Oh no...Still? We were hoping he'd be feeling better today."

Rose entered the room. "Jack, I think now would be a good time to take Zim. I've got Dib upstairs in bed, and I'm about to bring him some warm milk to help him get to sleep, so I think now would be the best time to go. Oh, and Zim, don't you worry about Dib. I'll take good care of him while you're gone." she said before then whispering into his antennae. "I'm going to sneak a little medicine into his drink and then sweeten it up with honey and a cinnamon stick so he won't even notice." she said.

Laughing a little, Zim grinned wide. "Better be careful. He tends to notice what most people wouldn't." he stood up quickly and grabbed Jack's arm. "Come on! Let's hurry!" he urged the other to take him already.

Laughing herself, Rose smiled. "Well, I'll take the blame in the event that he does notice. But really, he's being ridiculous refusing to take any medications. Not all medications are bad. And I'm certain just taking it once won't hurt him. Now, you two have fun while you're out. But don't stay too long." she called after them.

"Oh, we won't." Zim grinned wide. "Hurry up, Jack." he said, trying to make the other move faster.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Zim. I'm coming. The store will still be there if we don't run." he said.

Smiling as she watched Zim excitedly drag Jack out the door and towards the store, Rose then turned her attention back on Lily. "Lily, Jack's going to be making burgers and hot dogs for the kids later when he gets back. But can you help me make some spaghetti while we wait. I promised Dib I would make him some today since he doesn't get to have it too often. The kids can go play outside if they want just so long as they don't set off any fireworks yet. Oh! And I almost forgot, I still need to make some rice krispy treats too." she said, looking over at Purple and smiling.

Purple smiled back. "Would you like me to help too?" he asked.

"I think you'd enjoy helping me make this dish." Rose said, pulling out the ingredients she would need to make them and passing him a piece of paper with the recipe on it. "Do you think you can follow what's written on this piece of paper and start measuring out the ingredients we need to make them while I bring Dib that glass of warm milk I promised him?" she asked.

"Uhh, sure, I guess." Purple stared at the measurements, trying to figure out what they were.

"Ummm...Lily, can you make sure he's measuring those out right too?" Rose asked before then dropping her voice to a whisper so only she could hear her. "He's new to cooking." she said before retrieving the milk and warming it in the microwave to bring it up to Dib, though not before adding the bit of medicine and honey to cover it up.

"U-Umm...C-Can I come with you, Aunt Rose?" Stella asked, not wanting to have to go outside with her brother and sister, whom were running around squirting water guns at each other.

Rose smiled. "Sure, Stella, come on up." she said.

Eager to watch Dib, Stella grinned and followed her to the bedroom.

"But I don't want you waking him up if he's asleep already." Rose warned Stella before opening the door to the room and walking in.

One of the pillows resting against his stomach, which was upset due to the smeets moving around inside of him at the moment, Dib was at this point curled up under the covers.

"Hey, Dib..." Rose's voice came out soft as she reached out a hand to smooth back his antennae a bit. "I brought you some warm milk to help you get to sleep..."she said, placing it on the bed stand.

Eyes barely open slits at the moment, Dib yawned tiredly before reaching out to take the cup and down it, nuzzling into the blankets more and thanking her.

Giggling, Stella watched him.

Noticing this, Rose wondered what Stella was up to.

Finally falling fast asleep after a few more minutes had passed, Dib's antennae twitched slightly.

Sighing, Stella watched him. "Isn't he cute?" she said, a dreamy gaze gracing her face.

Just then realizing what Stella was getting at, Rose turned her attention on her niece. "U-Umm...Stella, honey...I should probably tell you that Dib's-" she got cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing again and sighed. "I'll be right back. Just don't do anything to disturb him, okay?" she said before leaving the room to get the door.

Rolling her eyes at those words, Stella crept over to the bed to watch Dib sleep, grinning wide. "I'll have you for myself." she giggled. "So cute." she then said to herself.

Mumbling Zim's name quietly, Dib shifted onto his stomach in his sleep.

"Hmm?" Stella tilted her head to the side, not quite hearing him. She then shrugged and took a seat on the bed next to him.

Just continuing to sleep on peacefully, Dib hardly responded to the shift in the bed.

Re-entering the room after a few minutes, Rose found Stella sitting near him on the bed. "Stella, what did I tell you about disturbing him!" she scolded her 16-year-old niece.

"But I'm not. See? He's still asleep. He didn't even notice I sat down." Stella complained.

Rose sighed. "That's beside the point, Stella. He COULD have woken up. Now, come on downstairs with me to say hi to your grandmother. Your father just picked her up and brought her over here. And I know your mother is going to want you to say hello to her. Let Dib sleep for a while." she said.

Stella pouted a little. "Can't I just stay up here with Dib?" she asked.

"No, Stella. Your mother wants you downstairs helping in the kitchen. Leave Dib alone for now. He needs his sleep. You'll be able to talk to him later AFTER he wakes up and feels like coming downstairs."

Stella groaned. "Ugh. Fiiine." she got up to leave the room in a huff.

Her eyes narrowed on the girl, Rose followed after her. "Now, don't you be acting like that in front of your grandmother, Stella." she called after the girl as they left Dib all alone in the room.

Meanwhile, Zim and Jack stood before a large display of engagement rings, searching through all of them for just the right one.

"Hmmm..." Zim stared at them all, wanting to find something pretty but not too bulky or gaudy, knowing Dib wasn't really the show-offy type.

Looking over the rings as well, Jack came up to stand behind him. "So, have you given any thought as to what kind of ring you want to get Dib?" he asked.

"Well, none of these." Zim scoffed at the large rings. "He's more subtle...He would want something that he could wear and know what it meant but no one else could...That way no one would make fun of him..." he said.

"Alright then, that sounds more like Dib anyways." Jack said, taking Zim by the arm and leading him over to a small section lined with smaller gold and silver rings that had small diamonds and other precious stones in them. "How about one of these?" he asked.

"Ohh yeah, that would work!" Zim grinned wide. "What color do you suppose he'd go for?" he asked.

Jack could only laugh a bit at Zim's reaction. "Well, it's not really my choice to make. You just need to choose one you think he'll like. Perhaps the one that's closest to his favorite color or fits best with his skin tone or clothes. Of course, it's kind of hard to match green." he laughed a bit. "But I'm sure he'll be happy with whatever you end up choosing." he smiled at Zim. "Try to imagine which one you could see Dib wearing."

Zim bit his lip nervously. "Ummm..." he looked back to the rings, scanning through them, "How about...that one?" he pointed to a slim, silver-banded ring with a small diamond in the center.

Jack smiled. "It's a really nice ring. I could see Dib wearing it. Very simple; that's kind of Dib's style. But the final decision is ultimately yours, Zim. Can YOU see Dib wearing it? Is it what you had in mind to get him?" he asked.

Thinking it over, Zim bit his lip even more. "Yes. I think he'll love this one." he smiled a little, pressing closer to the glass to get a closer look.

"Well then, I think you should get it." Jack said before turning to ask the clerk behind the counter to pull out the ring for Zim to get a closer look.

Taking the ring out for them, the clerk smiled and handed it over to Jack.

Jack held it up for Zim to get a closer look. "I think he'll like it a lot, Zim." he said.

His mind quickly deciding what he wanted, Zim grinned wide. "Oh, yes. He will love it! And he will be mine." he grinned wide. "How much?" he asked.

"Well, for this particular ring, it would cost around $2600."

Zim choked a little. "Th-That much for this?!" he swallowed and shook his head, refusing to break his resolve. "Fine...Here…" he dug into his PAK and pulled out a small card. He held the ring close as he handed it to the cashier.

"I tried to warn you that it would be pricey, Zim."

"Well, you know, I could give you a discount on it if you're planning to buy your wedding ring here too."

Zim looked up. "Really?" he asked.

Smiling, the clerk nodded. "Sure. That's our policy." he said.

A grin spread across Zim's face. "SIGN ME UP THEN!" he said, smiling wider than he ever had before.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 106. =3 Until next time~


	105. Chapter 107

ZADR Orange Chapter 107

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Nodding his head at Zim's decision, the clerk pushed forward a paper for Zim to sign. "Alright then, we can knock off $500, which will bring your total to $2100." he said, waiting for Zim finish filling out the form he had passed him so he could add it to the store's records.

Finishing the paper work and pushing the card from before closer, Zim nodded. "I put moneys into an Earth bank about a year ago. There should be plenty to pay for it."

Taking the card from Zim, the clerk headed for the cash register. "Alright then." he rung it up for him before retrieving a small box for Zim to keep the ring in. "Well, here you are." he handed the box and card back to Zim with a smile.

Holding the box close, Zim grinned wider before turning to Jack. "We can go now."

Jack smiled back. "Alright then, let's get going before it gets too late. I still have to barbecue some burgers and hot dogs for Rose's nieces and nephew. And I don't want to be doing that while fireworks are going off. Not to mention, Dib's probably wondering where you disappeared off to by now. Though I'm sure Rose is keeping him well distracted."

Flinching at the thought of fireworks, Zim quickly nodded. "Yeah, let's hurry."

Meanwhile, back at the house, Dib wearily stumbled his way into the kitchen where Rose and her sister were preparing dinner.

Rose looked up from the salad she was preparing. "Oh, Dib, you're up." she said, walking over to him.

Hiding his face in her shirt as she pulled him into a hug and played with his hair a bit, Dib merely groaned slightly.

"Are you feeling better? It feels as though your fever has gone down." Rose said, feeling his forehead again.

"...Yeah...Only because Zim isn't here..." Dib murmured before looking around. "Where is he anyways?" he asked, only seeing Rose, Purple, and Rose's sister and mother in the room.

"He went to go help Jack get something from the store." Rose said quickly. "But what is this about you being better because Zim is gone?" she asked.

"I don't even know...Every time he comes anywhere near me, I feel like my body is on fire. But I don't know why! I've wanted to tell him, but I don't want him to think it's his fault because I don't know why this is happening! Every time he touches me, it's like fire burning the underside of my skin! But when he leaves, everything's fine again..."

"Really, hmm...I'm not sure..." Rose glanced at her sister, mother, and Purple before then leaning in closer. "Have you ever thought it might be because you're pregnant?" she asked in a whisper.

Dib's antennae drooped. "I considered that...But I don't know why it's affecting me now..." he said.

Sitting at the table next to Rose's mother, Purple watched Dib and Rose from afar, able to pick up on their conversation before standing up to approach them. "A heat, like fire whenever Zim comes near you?" he asked, wanting to know whether he had heard Dib right.

Antennae perking, Dib blinked his eyes up at the other. "Yeah..." he said.

Rose looked up at Purple also. "Do you know something about this?" she asked.

Purple turned his gaze on her. "Well...I've heard of it before...But I've never actually seen it. So I could be wrong about this...It's normal for Irkens to enter times of heat every few years...At least, it's normal for non-pregnant Irkens...But I've heard rumors of pregnant Irkens being sent into heat by a certain pheromone their mates may be giving off...Of course, they only give off this pheromone shortly after having mated...And the partner is usually highly more sensitive to the pheromone's effects when pregnant...Or so I've heard..." he then eyed Dib closely. "Have you and Zim mated within the past few days?" he asked, causing Dib to suddenly tense up.

"W-Well, I-I...W-We...Umm..." Dib stuttered out, so horribly embarrassed by the other's question, his face unintentionally turning a dark, red color.

"Oh, Dib..." Rose pulled him into a tight hug. "It's okay..." she pet his head gently and turned to Purple. "Does this wear off? Is there anything we can do to stop it?" she asked.

"Well...If Zim were giving off that pheromone unknowingly, his computer would probably be able to detect it and perhaps administer a shot with a temporary pheromone blocker in it that would hold over for about 12 hours at the most. But otherwise, it would wear off after a few days regardless."

Relieved, Rose sighed. "Well, that's good to know." she smiled wide. "So...Who's going to tell Zim?" she asked.

Looking down at the still mortified Dib, Purple then looked back up at Rose. "W-Well, I could..." he raised his hand. "I-If his mate doesn't mind..." he glanced down at Dib again, though he seemed too shaken at the moment to even respond.

Continuing to pet him gently, Rose hugged Dib close. "Could you? I think it would be best..."

"Sure..."

Save for bringing his hands up to hide his face in, Dib didn't respond before pulling away from Rose to shuffle out of the room quickly and head back to the bedroom upstairs.

Rose sighed. "Poor Dib..."

Purple's antennae drooped. "I-I guess I shouldn't have asked him that question...I can't seem to do anything right in front of him...He's always mad at me..."

"It's not your fault, Purple. He's just confused. He IS still a kid after all."

Tilting his head to one side, Purple sent Rose a rather confused look now at those words. "Hmm?" he lifted an antenna. "But he's...having a litter of smeets...Are you saying he's still a smeet himself?" he asked before glancing in the direction Dib had just left.

"Well, yes, sort of. By human standards he is still a child."

"Oh...Well...Zim didn't mention THAT to me...Is it normal then for your young to have young on this planet?"

"Well, no. It's not...But it does happen sometimes...Dib is in his last stages of childhood before he becomes an adult...But he still has at least four years left."

"Well then...Is he going to be able to handle delivering a litter of smeets? On our planet, it's unheard of having smeets at such a young age. In fact, until they are officially considered adults, it would be illegal for two underage Irkens to mate or for an underage Irken to mate with an adult just for this reason."

"Well...Technically, it's illegal here too...At least for the mating with adults part. But many children still do it."

"So then...Is it possible that Zim could get in trouble with your Earth authorities for this? I know that if anyone back on Irk ever found out about this he could be severely punished for it."

Rose shook her head. "No, everyone who knows Zim considers him to be the same age as Dib...Plus..." she quieted herself a lot. "Plus...Zim has something special planned for Dib." she whispered.

"Oh, you mean that marry thing?"

"Oh, so he told you about it then?"

"Yes. This morning he was looking stuff up on it. So, does this marry thing he's planning allow him the right to mate with Dib even though he's underage? Without having to worry about your Earth authorities punishing him was somebody to find out his real age?"

"Well, I would assume so. You can't really get in trouble for mating with someone you've declared to the world as yours."

"Oh...So it IS a planetary event?"

"Well...Actually, no. But most civilized areas of the planet accept it."

Somewhat confused now, Purple tilted his head to the side. "O-Oh...I guess that makes sense...Kind of..." he said before his antennae perked when he heard the front door opening.

"Rose! We're back!" Jack called from his spot at the front door, Zim happily smiling down at the small box with the ring he had gotten.

Seeing them, Rose squealed. "Oh, you HAVE to let me see it!" she exclaimed.

Lily and Rose's mom gave her an odd and confused look.

Zim giggled. "Well, I'm not sure..." he said teasingly

"Oh, come on! Please, Zim! You have to let me see it! It's not fair if Jack gets to see it but I don't!" Rose begged, grinning wide at him and rocking back and forth on her feet excitedly.

Zim laughed loudly. "Okay. Okay. But you can't let him know."

"See what? Who can't know about what?"

Zim froze. "Uhhh..." he tried to think of what to say.

"U-Uhh...I-It's nothing...Really..." Rose smiled nervously at her sister.

"It certainly doesn't SOUND like nothing."

"W-Well..." Rose glanced at Zim, not knowing whether she should just come out and tell her what it was or not or whether Zim would care if she told her sister about him and Dib.

Not trusting her in the least, Zim glared at Lily. "It's none of your concern." he finally said with a nod.

Looking back at Zim, Rose glanced at Lily momentarily. "U-Umm...Lily...It's really nothing."

"No, really, I want to know what the big deal is."

"Really, Lilly, it's a secret. And if Zim doesn't want you to know, then you should just drop it already. He has a right to his privacy."

"FINE," Lily grumbled before leaving them to their secrets.

Zim glared at her until she was back in the kitchen. "Okay...But don't tell anyone." he opened the box slowly. "What do you think?" he asked.

Watching her sister leave, Rose sighed before turning back to look at the ring, a smile coming to her face at seeing it. Then, in an excited whisper, she gave him her answer. "Oh! It's perfect! I'm certain he'll love it, Zim!" she said, her smile growing wider and wider by the second.

Zim grinned wide as well. "I just have to find the perfect time to give it to him. I really want him to say yes." he said, eyelids slipping partially closed as he gazed at the ring.

"Well, with a ring like that, he couldn't possibly say no to you. And I'm sure you'll know when the perfect time to give it to him is."

"I hope so...I'm not good at timing..."

"Zim...This is something special you're giving Dib...When you look into his eyes, you'll know when the right time to give it to him is...Because the moment will be special too..." Rose smiled reassuringly at him.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 107. =3 Until next time~


	106. Chapter 108

ZADR Orange Chapter 108

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Closing the box, Zim smiled back and stored it safely in his PAK. "I'm going to go check up on him!" he cheered, rushing for the stairs.

"Oh! U-Umm...Wait, Zim! I-I think we should tell you something!" Rose called after him. But it was too late. He was already up the stairs and out of hearing range. Knowing that the encounter would be less than pleasant, Rose sighed.

Zim rushed excitedly into Dib's room. "Dib?" he whispered. "Dib, are you awake? Are you feeling any better?" he asked.

Shuddering at the wave of heat washing over him, signaling Zim's return back to the house, Dib hid even more underneath the covers. Not wanting to have to deal with anybody after what had happened earlier, he sank even further under the covers.

Going to the bed, Zim smiled and sat down to cuddle up next to Dib. "I guess you're still asleep." he said, unable to stop grinning no matter how hard he tried. He was just too happy. "I'll keep you warm." he nuzzled Dib and loosely wrapped his arms around him, closing his own eyes.

Curling in on himself under the covers, Dib flinched uncomfortably at the sudden closeness and touch before sobbing into his hands, wanting to be left alone.

Eyes snapping wide open, Zim looked at Dib confused. "What's wrong, Dib?" he asked.

Save for a wet whimper and shake of his head, Dib didn't respond, not wanting to talk about it. He didn't want to talk with Zim or anyone else about what Purple had said earlier in front of Rose.

Petting Dib's head gently, Zim pulled the covers back a little. "What's wrong? Please, tell me." he tried to coax an answer out of the other.

His antennae twitching before falling back to press against the back of his head uncomfortably, Dib pulled back at the small pet.

Meanwhile, Rose stood in the doorway with Purple next to her. "Umm...Zim, can we talk?" she asked.

Sighing, Zim glanced up at Rose and Pur then back at Dib before standing up. "Okay..." he sadly walked out of the room, letting Rose close the door behind him, "He hates me..." he said once they were alone.

"No! No, Zim...That's not it at all. He doesn't hate you. He's just...a little flustered at the moment...W-We think we found out what's wrong with him, b-but it was a little embarrassing for him..."

Not really believing her, Zim looked up sadly. "So, what is it?" he asked.

"W-Well...Umm..." Rose glanced at Purple for help.

"U-Ummm...Zim. D-Did you ever consider before making your mate part Irken whether he'd go through any times of heat like we do every few years?"

Confused, Zim paused. "...Nooo...I thought his human half would block that...It seemed to block every other weakness..."

"Well...He IS pregnant, so under normal circumstances, even if he were full Irken, he wouldn't have to worry about going into heat, unless...Unless you two mated recently..." Purple eyed Zim warily.

Blushing, Zim gulped and looked away. "W-Well... Yes, we did." he sighed heavily. "So, what are the effects?" he asked.

"Well, you've been in heat before. You should know the symptoms by now. The only difference is that there is something triggering his at the moment. And we think that the thing triggering it is a pheromone that YOU'RE giving off."

Zim's eyes widened. "I-I'm...No...But...Y-You mean...I can't be around him without hurting him..." he finally managed to get his words out.

"Not unless your computer can determine which pheromone it is you're giving off and administer a pheromone blocker to take care of it. Otherwise, it will be a few days until the effects wear off."

Wilting, Zim sighed and looked away. "...I-I should go home now then...Rose...C-Can Dib stay with you? U-Until this wears off or something?" he asked.

"O-Of course...B-But don't you think it would just be easier for you to find out which pheromone it is that's affecting Dib and find some way to block it? I-I don't think he'd be all too happy if you just left without saying anything."

"I know he won't, but I don't know how long it will take to find." Zim sighed. "So...Can he stay here till then?" he asked again.

Rose sighed also. "Yes. Of course he can. But I think you better tell him where you're going before leaving. Otherwise he'll think it was his fault that you left and probably seclude himself in that room for the rest of the night." she said.

"Given his current situation, it really shouldn't take Zim that long to find which pheromone it is though. Not if he narrows it down to the few pheromones that influence the need to mate."

Zim nodded at both suggestions. "Yeah...I'll tell him..." he sighed and peeked into the bedroom again, "...Dib?" he asked.

Hearing the other call out his name, Dib's antennae perked beneath the covers before falling back to press against the back of his head, still sniffling wetly from his spot as he sensed Zim approaching the bed before removing the blanket enough for the other to see his tear-stained face.

Flinching, Zim looked away. "I'm sorry...I didn't know I was doing this to you..." he said.

"But it's not your fault!" Dib cried, crawling into the other's lap before burying his face in the Irken's side, wiping his eyes on Zim's uniform top.

Unable to help but run a hand through Dib's hair, Zim sighed. "But it is...It's my entire fault...Every bit of it..." he said, feeling awful about all this.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 108. =3 Until next time~


	107. Chapter 109

ZADR Orange Chapter 109

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Refusing to let Zim move from his spot, Dib pulled himself up into Zim's lap and wrapped his arms around the other's waist. "No, it's not! No, it's not!" he sobbed even more, shaking his head and clinging to the Irken, not wanting to pull away despite the wave of heat washing over his body.

Kissing Dib, Zim then shook his head. "Look, Dib. You're burning up...This is my fault...It's because I'm here..." he said.

Afraid the other would try to leave him, Dib could only cling to Zim tighter at those words.

Zim kissed him again. "But I'll make it up to you. I promise...I just have to leave you here for a while...Rose already said it was okay for you to stay..." he said.

Blinking the tears out of his eyes, Dib could only sniffle wetly before lifting his gaze up to stare at Zim. "W-Will you be back for dinner? I don't want you to miss it because of me!" he exclaimed, squeezing his eyes tightly shut and shaking his head.

Shaking his head, Zim sighed. "Probably not...I might not be back for a few days, Dib..." he said.

"B-But...Then what's the point in leaving if it's just going to wear off by then?!" Dib broke down into a new flood of tears, not wanting the other to leave him there alone. He didn't want to eat alone or sleep alone at night. He had already gotten too used to being with Zim no matter what.

Petting Dib, Zim sighed again. "Look. If I can't figure it out, it will still wear off in a couple days, then I'll come back for you..." he kissed Dib gently, holding him close. "I'm not going to leave you, Dib..." he tried to reassure the other.

"I want you to stay here..." Dib sobbed into the other's shirt, still not thrilled about the thought of Zim leaving him, even if for only a short amount of time.

"I can't stay, Dib. It hurts you..."

"I don't care!" Dib whimpered out, obviously not going to make this easy for Zim as his arms wrapped themselves around the Irken tightly, shaking slightly.

Zim shook his head. "Dib, it's not that big of a deal...I go home, you stay here, I fix the problem or wait it out, then we get back together and everything is fine." he tried to pry the hybrid off of him.

"I don't want you to go!" Dib repeated stubbornly, not listening to a word Zim was saying. "I-I don't want to be left alone here..." he then said in a quieter voice.

"But you're NOT alone, Dib. You have Jack and Rose and Rose's family and Pur can stay too..."

His arms about the other's waist shaking even more now, Dib remained pressed against Zim. To him, all of them combined couldn't take the place of Zim. Not when the Irken was the one he slept with at night and talked to whenever he grew restless and found comfort in whenever he felt sick or depressed.

Zim sighed heavily. "Dib...We have to fix this...I don't want you feeling bad or being afraid to be around me..." he said.

"But I'm not afraid of being around you! I'm afraid of not being around you..." Dib's antennae fell back.

Zim's own antennae drooped in confusion. "Then why do you keep running away from me?" he asked, looking away.

"I wasn't! I just don't want you to leave me..."

"...I'm not going to leave you..."

"Then don't leave me now! Don't leave me now or ever..." Dib returned his gaze up to Zim pleadingly, just wanting the other's closeness more than anything else.

Zim sighed. "What about you and...this heat thing...?" he blushed, looking away before glancing back at him.

"I'll be fine! I can handle it! It will wear off in a few days, and your leader said it was something most Irkens go through anyways! If I can't handle it now, how am I going to handle it when I go into it again in the future and you're not the one causing it?"

Zim sighed heavily. "But...the smeets..." he began to say but got cut off.

"...will be fine, Zim! Th-They're still kicking, like normal, a-and don't seem particularly upset by it." Dib panted out, sending Zim an all too serious look now.

Looking away, Zim sighed. "Are you sure?" he asked, not quite convinced yet.

"Yes! We're fine! Just so long as you stay with us, we're fine..."Dib took one of the Irken's hands and pressed it to the kicking in his abdomen to reassure the other.

Looking back to Dib for a moment, a smile spread across Zim's face before he leaned in to kiss him deeply. "I love you..." he breathed against the other's lips.

Moving his lips gently against Zim's own, Dib kissed the Irken back needfully. "I love you too..." he panted out, pressing himself closer to Zim.

Closing his eyes, Zim held Dib tightly. "Hungry?" he asked after a moment.

"Well...Maybe a little...B-But I can wait until dinner to eat..."

Kissing his cheek, Zim then nuzzled him. "I can leave if you want to go back to sleep..." he offered.

"I'll be fine if you want to stay...But it's up to you...Whatever you want to do..." Dib said, curling up in the Irken's lap.

Kissing Dib, Zim nuzzled him before scooting out from under him. "I'll be right back." he stood up and went to the door to talk with Rose again.

Curling back up on the bed, Dib lifted his head to watch Zim leave before resting his head on a pillow now and closing his eyes tiredly.

Waiting outside the door with Purple, Rose looked up as Zim exited the room and closed the door behind him quietly. "Well?" she asked expectantly.

Zim sighed. "He doesn't want me to leave...So I guess I'm staying..." he said with a small shrug.

"W-Well...Are you both alright with that? Perhaps I can give him something to keep him cool. Like a cold compress."

"I'm okay with it..." Zim nodded. "I think that would be good though. I don't want him getting too warm..." he said, agreeing to her cold compress idea.

"Well, alright then...If you're both okay with it, I'll just get him a cold compress to keep him cool."

Nodding, Zim smiled. "Thank you."

Rose smiled back. "No problem." she said before turning to head back downstairs and get one, returning a few minutes later with it. "This should keep him nice and cool. And if its effects start to wear off, he can just dip it into some cold water to keep it cool." she said.

Zim nodded happily. "Thank you...I'm sorry we're so much trouble." he said, taking the compress from her.

"Oh, Zim, you two are no trouble at all. We love having you here, and remember. Jack and I kind of think of you two as our good luck charm." Rose smiled back at him, pressing a hand to her extended belly.

Zim smiled wide. "I hope we keep being your good luck charm." he said.

"I'm sure you will be...Maybe I'll even take you two into the delivery room with me." Rose laughed, obviously joking about that.

Zim laughed also. "I think it'd be better if we sat in the waiting room. I don't want Dib freaking out..." he said.

"Oh, right. Of course, can't have that now. Though, he'll have to take a class on the birthing process at some point. I'm afraid that may freak him out even more."

Zim laughed even louder. "Surrounded by human females, all of which are pregnant and he being the only male like that...Yeah, he's going to freak out just stepping into the room." he joked, knowing how shy Dib was about this entire situation.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 109. =3 Until next time~


	108. Chapter 110

ZADR Orange Chapter 110

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Laughing herself at Zim's words, Rose nodded her head in agreement. "Oh, I'm sure. But you did say you were going to disguise him as a female, correct? I mean, he can't just walk in there as a male." she said, only able to imagine the panic that would arise from doing that.

Zim laughed also. "But of course." he said, smiling slyly.

Trying to imagine how Dib would look as a female, Rose couldn't help but squee happily at the thought. "Aw! I'll bet he'll make the cutest girl!" she grinned wide before looking back down at Zim. "Hey, Zim, do you think I could help you disguise him when you decide to do that? I love giving makeovers, and I have some really cute clothes from when I was younger that I'd love to see him in." she said, figuring Dib could probably fit into them given some were from her first pregnancy.

Zim snorted. "Okay, okay. You can help. But you better go back downstairs. I think everyone's going to be missing you soon. I'll stay with Dib." he said, pointing a thumb back towards the room.

Sighing, Rose then smiled back at him. "I suppose you're right. Though I was kind of hoping I would be able to avoid my mother as much as possible today. She really does just suck the life right out of me. Even when she's just talking, she's tiring to be around." she laughed before turning back to Purple. "Well, Purple. Care to join me downstairs again?" she asked, offering her arm to him.

Sighing himself, Purple smiled and looped arms with her. "Sure." he said, allowing her to lead him back downstairs.

Smiling as the two returned back downstairs, Zim then turned and re-entered the bedroom. "I'm back, Dib..." he whispered, as though afraid of disturbing Dib.

Lifting his head from the pillow when Zim entered, Dib smiled and reached out his arms for the other, making grabby hands at him.

Grinning wider, Zim rushed over to him, snuggling up to him and pulling him close. "Love you, Dib." he cooed out.

"Mmm...I love you too, Zim..." Dib nestled his head to the other's chest comfortably before yawning out tiredly. "What were you talking about for so long out there with Rose?" he then asked, eyes closed now, knowing the other had been talking with Rose this entire time.

Zim rubbed Dib's side. "She was saying how we were her good luck charm, and that she wants to help dress you up like a girl so we can take you to pregnancy classes." he murmured against the hybrid's skin.

Letting out a small whine, Dib could only shift about uncomfortably at those words. "Mmmmm...But these clothes she picked out for me are already so uncomfortable." he pouted, not liking the idea of being dressed up like a girl. "Can't we just dress YOU up instead and pretend like I'm the father?" he said, preferring that idea over their idea.

Zim laughed. "Dib, it's not going to help us at all if I'm the one doing the stuff. Besides, you have the belly." he poked him lightly.

Swatting at the offending hand, Dib let out another small whine at the poke before taking hold of it and beginning to play with Zim's fingers. "I'm not so sure I WANT to know what kind of STUFF they're going to be having me do. Not after what we saw in that book at least." he shuddered at the memory.

Zim kissed his head. "Forget the book. We don't need it." he began stroking Dib's hair.

"Mmm..." Dib's eyelids slipped halfway closed. "You're the one who bought it..." his antennae twitched slightly.

Zim blushed. "Well...I panicked..." he said before snuggling under the covers with Dib and closing his eyes as he held him close.

"I can see why. Those pictures in that book made it look excruciatingly painful!" Dib said before pulling Zim's hand up to his mouth to suck on the other's fingers.

Nuzzling Dib, Zim moaned softly. "Mmmhm..." he sounded out.

Enjoying the sweet taste and soft texture as he dragged his tongue along the length of each of Zim's fingers, Dib happily suckled on them even more.

Wishing it wasn't just his fingers getting this treatment, Zim whined.

Antennae perking at the small whine, Dib opened his eyes after a moment to blink at the other. "Hmm?" his eyes grew perfectly wide when he suddenly felt something hard between Zim's legs pressing up against him. Just then realizing what this was doing to the other, he blushed and pulled Zim's fingers from his mouth to apologize. "S-Sorry!" he said quickly, having not realized what he had been doing.

Nuzzling him, Zim purred. "Not your fault...You're affected by me..." he breathed out heavily.

Dib blushed even more. "S-So do you want me to stop then?" he asked, knowing that he had to stop doing things like that despite how turned on the other's closeness was making him in that moment. This certainly wasn't the place OR the time to be doing or even THINKING about things like that as he squeezed his own legs together somewhat uncomfortably.

Zim sighed. "You know I don't...But...We're not exactly at our house..." he smiled, burying his face into Dib's neck.

Dib's antennae drooped. "I'm sorry..." he apologized again, not having meant to get Zim excited just to be crushed by the fact that they weren't at their own house. "I'll try not to do that anymore." he said before hiding his own face away in the other's shirt, biting down on his bottom lip to keep himself from doing anything else inappropriate with his mouth in that moment.

Zim nuzzled him. "You can't help it. As soon as dinner is over, we can go home and THEN you can go wild." he laughed, smirking wide.

Pulling the covers up over himself, Dib could only blush like crazy at those words before hitting the other with a pillow. "Pervert..." he said, more to himself than to Zim.

"Whaaaat?" Zim laughed and pounced on Dib, stealing his pillow weapon.

"Stooop..." Dib whined, trying to wriggle free from underneath Zim. "You're such a pervert!" he then said again, twisting this way and that to pull himself free.

"I know~" Zim caught Dib again and licked his ear.

"Nyeh!" Dib struggled even more, trying to pull away from Zim.

Enjoying himself, Zim laughed. "Awww...Where you going, Dibbers?" he cooed out playfully.

"Somewhere where your tongue can't reach me." Dib said, continuing to struggle underneath Zim.

Clinging tighter to Dib, Zim snorted. "And what if I say no?" he asked.

Turning over onto his back underneath Zim, Dib sent the Irken a small glare. "Then I'd knee you somewhere you REALLY wouldn't want to be kneed." he said in an all too serious voice, antennae falling back to show he wasn't playing.

His eyes widening for a moment and antennae standing on end, Zim jerked away quickly, pulling his knees to his chest. "You wouldn't...Would you?" he sent Dib a truly scared look now.

"Do you really want to test that theory?" Dib countered Zim's question with a question of his own, narrowing his eyes on the other to show he meant business.

Zim shook his head violently. "I'd rather not." he said, scooting away from Dib just a bit more.

"Okay. Good." Dib said, sitting himself up slowly to smooth his clothes out again just as there came a knock at the door.

After knocking, Rose peeked her head inside the room. "Hey, you two, dinner is ready if you'd like to come down and eat now." she smiled, oblivious to the small play fight that had just taken place between the two.

Nodding his head, Zim smiled. "Good." he looked back to Dib, still a bit nervous. "Ready to eat?" he asked, almost cautiously.

"Yeah...I guess..." Dib's glare fell away to a more tired look now as he slowly pushed himself back up onto his feet and made his way over to where Rose was before looking back at the Irken, waiting for him to follow. "Are you coming?" he asked, blinking at the still somewhat scared look on Zim's face.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 110. =3 Until next time~


	109. Chapter 111

ZADR Orange Chapter 111

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

In a bit of a daze still, Zim shook his head at Dib's question. "Oh, yeah! Yeah, I'm coming." he hopped up and rushed to the door, still a bit shaken.

Rose eyed Zim curiously. "Everything alright, Zim? You look like you've just seen a ghost." she said, referring to how pale he had suddenly become.

"I'm fine!" Zim snapped, grinning at her to prove it.

Confused now, Rose blinked down at him. "A-Alright then..." she turned to Dib. "And how about you, Dib? Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Dib lazily blinked his eyes up at her before letting them drop. "O-Oh...Yeah...I'm fine..." he said in a somewhat tired voice.

"Sooo...Are we going to eat?" Zim asked, changing the subject.

"Oh...Yes. Follow me. I have the table set downstairs in the living room." Rose said, leading them downstairs.

Curious as to what they would be eating, Zim followed.

As she led them down the stairs, Rose turned her head to smile at them. "We made a lot of food to choose from, so feel free to take whatever you like. Oh, and Zim, if you'd like, we went ahead and made some spaghetti without the sauce in case you felt like eating anything other than sweets. But Purple helped me make the Rice Crispy Treats you wanted. And there are plenty of other snacks available to you if you'd like." she said just as they were reaching the bottom of the stairs, at which point Stella came bounding up to them, grabbing hold of Dib's arm with both hands.

"Come on, Dib. I saved you a seat next to me." Stella said, tugging him away from Zim and Rose, all the while smiling back at him and batting her eyelashes.

Eyes wide, Zim froze, his mouth dropping open as Dib was pulled out of his sight. "Wh-Who...WHO THE IRK WAS THAT?!" he shouted at Rose angrily.

Holding her hands up defensively, Rose instantly took a few steps back. "N-Now, calm down, Zim. Th-That was just my niece, Stella. Sh-She said earlier today that she wanted to sit next to Dib at dinner. Nothing to be worried about though. Th-There's nothing wrong with wanting to sit next to someone at dinner. A-And I made sure the other seat next to Dib was reserved for you." she smiled nervously at him.

Clenching his fists, Zim growled. "That stupid worm is fawning over MY Dib! And you are letting her!" he pointed accusingly at Rose.

"Zim, calm down. I'm not letting her. In fact, I've been trying to keep her from going anywhere near him all day. But she kept insisting that I let her sit next to him at dinner. I figured it couldn't hurt to at least let her do that. I-I mean...You're still the one with the ring here. It's not like Dib's going to fall for her or anything. He loves YOU. If anything, it's Stella who's going to be hurt when this is all said and done."

Crossing his arms, Zim pouted and glared at the floor angrily. "Well...She just better keep her hands off of him." he said in a huff.

"You know, Zim. If it's really bothering you that much, why don't you just come out and tell her you and Dib are already in a relationship? I was considering doing that earlier but didn't know whether either of you would care if I told her. But really, what harm could it do to let her know if you don't want her crushing on Dib like that? None really, if you think about it."

Zim sighed heavily. "Dib wouldn't like it...He'd get embarrassed and leave..." he said, just imagining how that would go down.

Rose's face fell. "I suppose you're right...But really...If Dib's feeling as uncomfortable about this as you are, perhaps he wouldn't mind you telling her as much." she said, not seeing any other way around it at this point.

"...Maybe..."

"Well...I'll leave it up to you what you decide to do or not do..."

Nodding as they entered the dining room, Zim saw the open seat next to Dib and took it quickly.

Antennae drooping now, Dib glanced over at Zim nervously.

Glaring at Stella, Zim scooted his chair closer to Dib possessively.

Sighing out dreamily, Stella was too focused on Dib to notice Zim at first as she tried to strike up a conversation. "So, Dib...You wouldn't happen to have a girlfriend already by any chance, would you?" she asked, cutting straight to the point at hand.

Looking back at her nervously, Dib glanced back at Zim before answering. "W-Well...I...Umm...No...Not a girlfriend exactly..." he stuttered out.

Gripping Dib's hand, Zim squeezed it a little.

Stella still didn't notice however. "Ohhh...So that means you're available then?" she asked, leaning in closer to him.

"N-No! No...N-Not really..."

"Not really? What's that supposed to mean?"

Zim's eyes widened. "Yes, what DOES that mean?" he pouted a little. 'Doesn't Dib think we're together?' he thought to himself.

"Well, I..." Dib glanced over at Zim first then Stella, both of whom were now glaring at him as he sank down farther into his seat, pulling his hand away from Zim's as his antennae drooped down low.

When Dib pulled away, Zim's eyes widened even more. "Oh...I see..." he glared and pulled away as well, crossing his arms over his chest and avoiding looking at Dib.

Standing up abruptly from the table when Zim pulled away, Dib turned to yell at him. "You know! Why can't you just trust me for once in your life!" he exclaimed before shoving past the other to leave.

Snapping to attention, Zim's antennas knocked his wig off kilter. "Well, maybe if you weren't so embarrassed to be seen with me!" he shouted back, jumping out of his chair and following Dib.

Dib turned back on Zim. "I never said I was, you bastard! Never! Not once! But you always just jump to conclusions like that!" he threw his arms up in the air in an exaggerated motion.

"Well, it's not like you help!" Zim spat back, clenching his fists. "What do you mean 'MAYBE?' Huh?! Am I not good enough for you?! Damn it! I do the best I can!" he exclaimed, glaring daggers at the hybrid.

"You know what?! I don't need to stand here and take this shit from you, Zim! Because I haven't done anything wrong! I haven't said anything wrong! And still you're yelling at me! No matter what I say, you always turn it into a question of whether I'm with you or not! But since you can't seem to get it into your goddamn skull, let me spell it out for you! YES! I'M WITH YOU! AND ONLY YOU! I'VE NEVER BEEN WITH ANYONE ELSE, I DON'T WANT TO BE WITH ANYONE ELSE, AND I NEVER WILL BE WITH ANYONE ELSE! BECAUSE TO THE REST OF THE FUCKING WORLD, I'M JUST 'THE CRAZY KID!'" Dib screamed back at the other before turning to leave angrily.

Flinching visibly and biting his lip as Dib left, Zim stared at the door for a moment before running after him. "Dib! Wait!" he called after the other.

Heading for the stairs again to head upstairs to the room he had been in all day, Dib ignored Zim, slamming the door shut on Zim and locking it so the other couldn't follow him into the room.

Meanwhile, everybody else at the table was just staring with wide eyes at where the two had been sitting, Rose the first one to get up and pick up Zim's wig from the floor before following him with a sigh.

"I'll be right back..." Rose said to the still shocked room of people.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 111. =3 Until next time~


	110. Chapter 112

A/N: Well, I was gonna wait until tomorrow to post the next couple of chapters, but seeing as how I'm pretty on top of my work load at the moment, I've decided to post up two quick updates before the day officially ends. So you can all consider this a Valentine's Day posting. =3 After I meet my deadline for tomorrow, I should have more time available for working on this story. Please do keep in mind though that I do have a life outside of posting new chapters to this story. So no promises on necessarily fast updates. I like to spread them out a bit to keep myself from becoming too overwhelmed.

And, even though I've said this numerous times in the past already, please, please, PLEASE actually read my A/N's before commenting on this story, you guys. I've been getting a lot of reviews lately that have been asking/pointing out things that have already been covered numerous times in past A/N's. Is it really too much to ask that you guys read through them before commenting? I don't mean to come across as rude in saying this, but it really does get rather tiring having to explain things over and over and OVER again, especially when they've already been addressed more than once in my A/Ns.

For example, I keep receiving messages from people asking about why the chapter numbers don't match up with the chapter titles. Obviously, that's because the FF version of this story doesn't contain the sexual chapters in it. But still, people point it out to me as though I made an error in not posting them. What I don't understand though is how so many people can just completely miss out on my A/N's explaining this. Not only do I post an A/N BEFORE the chapters that are removed from the story but I also post one AFTER the missing chapters in question. So it boggles my mind that so many of you don't think to check what I have to say about these missing chapters before sending in the usual, "You forgot to post Chapter 34/86" reviews. For the last time, I. DID. NOT. FORGET! THEY. WERE. OMITTED. FOR. A. REASON! A reason that, yes, I'll say again, is constantly being addressed in my A/N's.

So yeah. Sorry if any of you find this rude, but all that I'm asking is that you guys take the time to read them before commenting. I hate to come across as the annoying, repetetive, bad guy in all this, but it would really help not to be asked the same questions in reviews/PMs.

That being said, I've decided to update my profile with a FAQ section as well. Hopefully that will help to cut back on the amount of repetetive questions I get about the story. If you have a question about the story that you DON'T see covered in the FAQ section though, please feel free to ask it and I'll add it to my ever growing questionnaire.

Now that I've talked all your ears off, please enjoy the following update. =3

ZADR Orange Chapter 112

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Knocking on the door to the room Dib had locked himself inside of, Zim tried to coax the hybrid back out with his words, knowing he had screwed up downstairs at the dinner table. "Dib, please open the door...I'm sorry..." he tried to apologize but was met with only silence from the other.

Pulling the bed covers up over his head, Dib refused to the listen to the Irken, tugging down on his antennae to block out the alien's voice.

From behind, Rose approached Zim. "Umm...Zim?" she said in a quiet voice so as not to startle him.

"WHAT?!" Zim snapped, turning on her then flinching and clearing his throat. "I-I mean...Yes?" he said in a calmer voice when he saw it was just Rose.

"You dropped this downstairs..." Rose held up the wig for him.

Seeing the wig, Zim blushed. "O-Oh..." he then sighed heavily. "I'm sorry I ruined dinner..." he apologized to her for what had just happened down there.

Rose merely shook her head however. "You didn't ruin dinner. In fact, you livened it up quite a bit. Though I can't say for sure whether the rest of my family noticed you were an alien or not when your wig fell off. Either way, I think you should head back downstairs and finish eating. I don't want you thinking Dib hates you, but I'm pretty sure he's mad right now and doesn't want to talk with anyone. I think that if you just give him some time and space, he'll come back out when he's feeling up to it." she said, trying to convince Zim to come back down with her.

Looking down, Zim sighed. "I didn't mean to make him leave..." he said.

"I know, Zim. Things like this just happen sometimes. Right now you need to just give him some space to breathe and calm down and let him come back down on his own. Because the longer you stand out here trying to get him to come back out, the longer he'll stay in there and refuse to come back out."

Nodding, Zim sighed again. "I know..." he said, realizing Rose was more than likely right about that.

"Come on, Zim. Let's go downstairs and finish having dinner. I'm sure Dib will come back down just as soon as he realizes how hungry he is. And trust me, it won't take him long to realize that with three hungry smeets inside of him." Rose said, offering her hand for him to take.

Taking it sadly, Zim sighed and followed her back down to the table.

Rose took her seat at the table across from him. "Cheer up, Zim. He'll come back down." she patted his hand reassuringly as the other picked at his food unenthusiastically.

Meanwhile, Stella stared at Zim with wide eyes. "So...He's with you then?" she said in an almost disbelieving voice.

Zim glared at her. "Yes, he is." he said firmly, half snapping at her.

"I tried to tell you earlier today, Stella. But you weren't exactly listening to me between fantasizing about you and Dib and holding a grudge against me all day for not letting you stay upstairs in the room with him." Rose said, calmly returning to her food.

Poking at her food, Stella pouted. "Well, he never said anything." she mumbled to herself.

"How could he have? He was up in that room sleeping all day, Stella. You know that. And you've known each other less than 24 hours. That's not the kind of stuff you should be expecting to talk about with him the first day you meet."

Again, Stella pouted. "Well..." she began to say but got cut off by her mother.

"Stella, just drop it." Lily sent her daughter a stern look before looking back at Zim. "That thing you were showing Rose earlier. It was a surprise for Dib, wasn't it? That's why you didn't want to show me, right?" she said, eying Zim closely.

Nodding a little, Zim looked away. "Yeah...It was...But I doubt he'll want it now..." he said, entire body slumping in his chair.

"That's enough, Zim. Thinking like that is what made Dib mad at you in the first place. I don't want to hear you doubting him anymore."

"Well, what was it?"

Looking down, Zim sighed. "Sorry..." he half-halfheartedly apologized to Rose again before he looked back up at Lily. "U-Ummm...Well..." he glanced at Rose, unsure about whether he should tell or not.

"Well...It's up to you, Zim. You don't have to tell them if you don't want to...Like I said before, you have a right to your privacy."

Nodding his head, Zim crossed his arms. "It is none of your concern." he nodded assuredly.

Sighing, Lily then smiled back at him. "Alright then, I'll just come up with my own ideas of what you could have possibly gotten him." she said before returning back to her food.

Zim eyed her nervously. "You're not going to tell him, are you?" he said in an all too paranoid voice, assuming she had already figured it out.

"Hmm?" Lily looked up from her food, some spaghetti hanging out of her mouth. Slurping it up and swallowing, she then blinked confusedly at him. "Tell him? Tell him what? I don't even know what you got him. You won't tell me, remember? And that's fine. I'm just saying I'll imagine things up for myself. It doesn't necessarily mean I know what you got him." she said.

Zim glared at her. "What mind games are you trying to play?!" he demanded, even more paranoid now.

"Huh? None! I swear!" Lily said, looking to her sister for help.

"Zim, she really doesn't know what you're talking about. It's okay. Calm down. Even if she did know, she wouldn't tell Dib."

Not believing that, Zim glared at Rose also. "Well, I told her it's none of her concern! So there!" he said with finality.

Rose sighed. "Zim, she heard you the first time. She's not trying to figure out what you got him, so just drop it already. You need to learn to stop jumping to conclusions about people." she said in a stern voice to the disguised Irken.

Zim looked away. "Sorry..." he said, not really meaning it. He was bad around people, especially humans. He liked being alone or with Dib. That's why he liked being an invader so much. He was alone.

Again, Rose sighed. "It's alright, Zim...Just...Take a deep breath and relax. Try to enjoy the rest of your dinner. We didn't have you over for dinner to torture you." she said, wanting Zim to loosen up a bit.

Dib came up behind Zim. "You're not torturing him, Rose...He's just torturing himself..." he said, taking a seat at the table next to Zim and Stella again, refusing to look at either of them. He had only come down because the smeets had started kicking and he had felt bad about starting a fight in the middle of dinner like that. "I'm...sorry about earlier." he apologized to Rose, the only one he would look at in that moment.

Eyes widening at Dib's return back to the table, Zim couldn't stop staring open-mouthed at him.

Picking up his fork to start eating some of the spaghetti Rose had made for him, Dib didn't even glance at Zim, one hand pressed to the kicking in his belly.

Turning back to his food, Zim sighed and prodded at it sadly, not feeling hungry anymore.

Hearing the sigh, Dib's antennae twitched and fell back, causing him to tighten his grip on the fork and glare down at his food. "Are you still mad at me...?" he addressed Zim, not even looking up from his food.

Zim's eyes never left his plate. "No..." he responded after several moments of silence.

His facial expression softening, Dib sighed himself. "Then I guess I'm sorry about calling you a bastard earlier..." he said before scooping a fork-full of noodles into his mouth, still reluctant to look at the Irken.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 112. =3 Until next time~


	111. Chapter 113

ZADR Orange Chapter 113

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Smiling sadly at Dib's words, Zim sent the hybrid a hopeful look. "Will you forgive me?" he asked, just wanting to put their argument behind them now.

"That depends...Are you going to keep on accusing me of wanting to leave you?" Dib glared down at his food again.

"No...I know you won't..."

Again, Dib sighed. "Fine...I forgive you...But you're sleeping on the couch tonight..." he said, shooting Zim another small glare.

Zim smiled wide. "Alright." he nodded, completely ignoring the glare.

Holding his stomach, Dib merely continued to eat silently, putting down his fork after finishing most of his spaghetti.

Worried, Zim glanced at him. "You okay?' he asked almost cautiously.

"I'm fine...My stomach's just a little upset is all..." Dib said, the smeets only continuing to kick more and more inside of him instead of calming like they usually did after a meal.

Glancing down, Zim sat up and smiled a little, leaning in to whisper to him. "I don't think they like us fighting." he said, thinking that was the reason they wouldn't calm.

"Well, they're upset about something...They won't stop kicking..." Dib said in a low voice back to the other.

Zim nuzzled him. "Let me see what I can do." he stood up and took Dib's hand, leading him out of the kitchen. "We'll be right back." he said to the room of people as they left. Once he had Dib alone, he then pushed his shirt up and kissed his belly gently. "Come on now, little ones. Your mommy needs a break." he spoke softly to the smeets.

"Ugh..." Dib groaned out a bit. "If they don't stop soon, I'm going to be sick..." he held his stomach more, pacing back and forth in an attempt to walk it off.

Zim pouted. "Maybe Rose would know what to do..." he suggested.

"No...No...I think we've caused enough trouble for her already today..." Dib said, continuing his pace around the room slowly, rubbing his hand soothingly over his stomach so as not to get sick.

"Uhh...Maybe you should lie down..." Zim then said, worried Dib would lose his dinner.

"I'm going back upstairs..." Dib headed for the stairs quickly, just wanting to lay down before that very thing happened to him.

Zim's antennae drooped. "Want me to come with you?" he asked as Dib went to head for the stairs.

"No. No, I'm fine...I'll come back down in a little while..." Dib said, heading up the stairs without another word.

Heading back for the kitchen, Zim sighed. "Dib felt sick..." he said once he had joined everybody back at the table.

"Sick? Again? W-Well, is he alright?"

Shrugging, Zim sighed again. "I don't know...He went to go lay back down..." he said, returning to picking at his food.

"Do you want me to go up there and check up on him?"

"Please? He probably wants to be alone...But I don't want him getting sick without someone watching over him..." Zim sighed before dropping his voice even lower. "Then again, it might just be me he can't stand to be around...Stupid pheromones..." he half mumbled to himself.

"Alright then, but what's this about pheromones?"

Zim sighed. "Don't ask..." he said with a shake of his head.

"Alright, alright, I'll go check on him now." Jack said, heading out of the kitchen to make his way up the stairs to the bedroom Dib had been staying in, knocking on the door when he got there. "Dib, are you alright?" he asked.

Curled up on the bed, Dib went to sit up slowly, a hand to his stomach. "Yeah...I'll be fi- AH!" he got cut short by the sound of a firework going off outside, causing one of the smeets inside of him to jump, startling him.

"Dib?" Jack opened the door, worried now.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Zim heard a loud firework and screamed before dashing under the kitchen table, eyes wide.

"Z-Zim, are you alright?" Rose pulled up the table cloth to see Zim sitting with his knees to his chest under the table before looking over at Purple, who had also reacted, having jumped out of his seat and pressed his back to the wall, eyes wide as he took a defensive pose and looked about the place, as though expecting something to come flying out at him.

Dib following behind him, Jack came bounding down the stairs, both of them having heard Zim's scream and reacted to it in the same way. "What's wrong?! Is everything okay in here?!" he asked in a panic.

"Where's Zim?!" Dib's own eyes were wide, a bit shaken by how much louder the fireworks sounded with antennae now.

Under the table, Zim whimpered, clapping his hands over his antennas to try and block out the noise.

As more fireworks went off, Purple clung to the wall more, his eyes growing wider than ever.

Going to kneel down near the table where Zim was, Dib had his own hands clapped over his antennae as he winced every time one of the smeets jumped inside of him, startled by the fireworks. "Zim...It's just fireworks...Nothing to be afraid of..." he tried to coax the other out from under the table as Rose and Jack set to work trying to calm Purple down, realizing this was his first time on Earth and therefore his first time experiencing fireworks.

Closing his eyes tightly, Zim shook his head.

"Come on, Zim! It's not like this is your first time hearing fireworks going off! You should be used to this by now!" Dib removed his hands from his antennae, still keeping them pressed as far back against his head as possible as he held out both his hands for Zim to take. "I'll even show you that they're nothing to be afraid of!" he said.

Taking Dib's hands, Zim whined but let him pull him out from under the table. He then clung tightly to Dib's side and whispered, "At least now we know what was wrong..." he said, referring to the smeets.

"Th-The smeets are afraid of the fireworks..." Dib said, hugging Zim close for a few moments before finally pulling himself back up onto his feet with Zim to head outside, Rose and Jack having by now gotten Purple to at least sit back down.

As they left the building, Zim clung to Dib. "Wh-Where are we going?" he asked, looking about almost frantically.

"Somewhere where you can get over this fear of fireworks you have. The only reason you don't like them is because you never actually ever took the time to just look at them. Every year, you just hide away in your base and listen to them. But that's not why we set them off. We set them off to look at. If you saw them, you wouldn't be so afraid all the time of hearing them go off." Dib said, dragging Zim outside into the backyard where Rose's nieces and nephew already were, watching the fireworks as they waited for their mother to light some sparklers for them to play with.

Clinging tighter to Dib, Zim whined. "They're so loud!" he buried his face in Dib's chest. How could anything like that be good?

Dib pulled Zim out onto the lawn. "Just look up, Zim!" he said, looking up himself to see the sky lit up beautiful colors of pink, green, and blue.

Looking up, Zim bit his lip, eyes widening at the colorful display. "Oh...Wow..." he said in some wonder once he got a good look at them.

"You see? I told you it was nothing to be afraid of." Dib said when he saw the look on Zim's face. "They're just a display. Nobody is attacking the planet or anything like that. Now, come on." he pulled Zim down to sit on the grass with him, just wanting to enjoy them while they still could.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 113. =3 Until next time~


	112. Chapter 114

ZADR Orange Chapter 114

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Following Dib's lead, Zim willingly allowed the other to pull him down into a sitting position on the grass before staring up at the sky as an explosion of colors danced across it.

Sighing out tiredly once he had the Irken sitting down next to him, Dib let his eyelids slip closed as he slumped up against Zim, panting now, all the adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins from Zim screaming when the first fireworks had started going off leaving him now.

Zim wrapped an arm loosely around Dib. "I love you..." he said in a quiet voice, not wanting to ruin that moment.

"I...I lo-" Dib didn't even manage to finish his sentence as everything suddenly blurred and went black on him.

"...Dib?" Zim turned to Dib confused. "Dib?" he shook him a little, eyes growing wide and breathing quickening when he didn't move.

The kicking in his stomach only growing worse, causing him to curl in on himself a bit, Dib breathed heavily against Zim.

Feeling Dib's belly, Zim flinched at all the movement. "I think we should get you away from all this noise..." he said, sitting Dib up slowly so he could pick him up better.

"I don't...I don't think there's anywhere we could...could go to escape the noise..." Dib panted out, all his energy just completely drained out of him now.

"My base blocks a lot of it..."

"I can't move..." Dib curled around himself.

Worried now, Zim whined. "Zim shall carry you." he scooped Dib up and ran inside.

The kicking painful, Dib pulled his knees to his chest upon being picked up. "Ow...Zim, it hurts!" he whimpered out, wanting down.

Setting Dib back down, Zim sighed. "We have to find some place sound proof..." he said, not wanting to stay there if it was going to hurt Dib.

Having been getting Purple comfortable on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate to calm his nerves, Rose entered the room. "Is everything alright in here?" she asked when she noticed Zim and Dib sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Zim shook his head. "No. The smeets are hurting him." he clung tightly to Dib, worried.

Moving in to kneel down near Dib, Rose felt the movement in his belly. "They're really moving around a lot right now...Bring him up to the bedroom to lay down again. I'll bring him another cup of warm milk to get him to sleep and hopefully the smeets too." she instructed Zim.

Nodding his head, Zim helped Dib up the stairs. "It's okay, Dib...She'll fix it..." he nuzzled him and kissed his cheek.

"Mmm..." Dib's antennae fell back against his head as Zim helped him to his feet to take him upstairs. "Th-They're just so scared by these fireworks..." he held his stomach, their upset moving about continuing with each firework that went off. "D-Do you think that means their antennae have developed fully?" he asked, smiling weakly at Zim.

Zim grinned wide. "Maybe they have." he looked down at Dib's belly. "I guess we should start talking to them more then." he laughed a little, trying to make light of the horrible noise outside.

"I just wish they'd listen..." Dib winced again at another kick.

Holding him close as they entered the bedroom, Zim kissed him. "They are listening...They're just scared..." he flinched himself at the sound of another firework.

"Are YOU still scared?" Dib asked in a quiet whisper, shifting his gaze from his extended belly to Zim.

Obviously scared, Zim looked up innocently. "O-Of course not!" he lied, keeping his eyes averted.

"And...What about your leader? This is his first time on Earth..."

Zim's antennae drooped. "Uhh...J-Jack and Rose are calming him down..." he said, not wanting to leave Dib's side.

Dropping his gaze to the bed sheets underneath him, Dib frowned. "Maybe you should be doing that, Zim..." his own antennae drooped. "Jack and Rose have been running around all day doing things for us...I feel bad for putting them through all this..." he said, feeling they were more a burden than anything else on the couple.

Sadly, Zim nodded. "What about you?" he asked, still not feeling very comfortable leaving Dib alone.

Dib smiled back at him. "I'm fine...I'm not afraid of fireworks, so I can try to comfort the smeets...Unless you feel like bringing him up here so you can keep an eye on me...I don't mind either way...I just don't want Jack and Rose feeling like they have to do anything more for us when they've already done so much..." he said again.

Standing up, Zim nuzzled him and nodded. "I'll be right back." he left the room quickly in search of Purple.

Watching Zim leave with a small smile, Dib then returned his gaze to his belly, running a hand soothingly over it. "It will be okay, little smeets...I'm right here..." he said softly, shifting in the bed to curl himself around them protectively. "It will be okay..." he whispered.

Finding Purple in the kitchen hunched up against a wall, his knees to his chest, Zim smiled a little sadly and tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you alright, my Tallest?" he asked, startling the other.

Jumping slightly at the tap, Purple looked around frantically before landing his gaze on Zim. "O-Oh...Zim...It's just you..." he sighed out in some relief. "These humans are so...strange...Acting so calm when their planet is obviously under attack...Has it always been like this on this planet? The entire 5 years you've spent here? I wasn't aware this planet had any other enemies besides you." he said, looking about almost paranoid, as though somebody may jump out at them at any point now.

Zim shook his head. "The planet isn't under attack, Pur. The humans are setting off the explosives themselves. It is how they celebrate stuff." he said before getting cut off by Purple again.

"By attacking their own planet?!" Purple looked at Zim in disbelief, not quite catching the 'the planet isn't under attack' part. "That's just...stupid...How have you managed to put up with it, Zim?! And to think, we thought you had landed on a much safer planet." he shook his head.

Smiling a little, Zim blushed at his leader's words. "Oh, well. You know me. No one can stop ZIM!" he threw his arms up before coughing to clear his voice and lowering his arms again.

"Are you really sure you want to be raising a family on such a dangerous planet though? It's almost like you're TRYING to sentence them to an early death. Oh! And why didn't you tell me your mate was still a smeet?"

Swallowing, Zim froze at those words. "U-Uh...Wh-What do you mean?" he asked nervously.

"Your mate. He is a smeet still, isn't he? That's what his female parental unit told me earlier after he got upset with me for asking whether the two of you had mated recently, which by the way, I was only trying to help..." he looked away to the side, rather annoyed. "She told me that that was one of the reasons why you were going through with this 'marry' thing you've been wanting to do." he said, recalling everything Rose had told him earlier.

Sitting down next to Purple, Zim sighed. "Yes...He's still a smeet...But that's not the reason I'm going through with the marriage thing..." he said, looking away to the side.

"Then why? Is it because he is carrying smeets?" Purple asked, blinking down at Zim curiously.

"No...It's because I love him...And I want him and the rest of this backwater planet to know that."

Purple could only smile at that answer. "Well then, he's lucky to have you..." he said, returning his gaze to in front of him.

Zim smiled a little sadly. "I just hope he accepts..." he said, unable to take his mind off the ring he had gotten Dib earlier.

"Oh, he will...He's kind of like me in some ways. If Red were to ask me to do something like that, I would still say yes, even though we've been fighting a lot lately...I guess it just doesn't matter how much we fight...I can't help but want to be with him...E-Even if he doesn't want to be with me right now..." Purple said somewhat sadly, a small smile playing along his lips as he went to rest his chin against his knees.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 114. =3 Until next time~


	113. Chapter 115

ZADR Orange Chapter 115

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Sighing at Purple's words, Zim patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay, Pur. I'm sure he's missing you right now." he said reassuringly.

Purple's antennae drooped. "I hope so...What about your mate? Isn't he missing you right now?" he asked, lifting his gaze to look at Zim.

Zim smiled. "Well, he's the one who sent me down here. He doesn't want to be a burden on Jack and Rose...So he asked me to watch you..." he said.

"W-Well, you know, you really don't have to if you don't want to...I'm fine. You can go on back up to him if you want."

"No, it's okay. Why don't you come up with me? You can feel the smeets move if you'd like."

"Hmm?" Purple's antennae perked. "Do you really think your mate would let me?" he asked, hesitating to accept that offer.

"Sure." Zim grinned. "Come on. I bet you'll love this." he said, gesturing for the other to follow him.

"Mmm...Okay!" Purple said excitedly, smiling wide at Zim.

Happy that Purple had forgotten about the fireworks now, Zim grinned wide and took Pur's hand to help him stand up. "Come on then. They won't be in there forever." he laughed.

"Oh yeah! That reminds me. Exactly how long will he be carrying them for anyways? I would have thought he would have given birth to them by now." Purple said as he followed Zim upstairs.

"Well...The eggs hatched inside him...So it looks like he'll be having them like a human...They have live births...That's the only reason they are moving inside him. If you and Red had smeets, they wouldn't do that."

"Well, I know THAT. But will your mate be able to handle a live birth? Irkens in general weren't built for that kind of thing. It just sounds too painful compared to the regular egg laying."

Nodding, Zim sighed. "I know...And he has three...I hope he can..." he said with a shrug.

"Well, have you considered seeking out medical care for him just in case?"

Zim nodded. "We are going to take a class on it when he gets closer to the birth..." he said, that being the best he figured they could get at this point.

"And if there are complications? Do you have a plan then? Somewhere to take him for medical help? Or someone trained to help in such a situation?"

"U-Uhh..." Zim bit his lip. "N-No. Not at the moment...W-We just have Jack and Rose helping us with everything..." he said, this conversation beginning to make him nervous.

"Do you WANT a medical professional to help here if something goes wrong? Because you know, I could always contact one of the medic drones back on the Massive. Or request help from Irk for you."

Zim's eyes widened. "Really? Would you?! I-I know Dib wouldn't want any help, but...I'd sooner trust an Irken than a human." he said excitedly.

"Of course I would...I could have one set up base on the planet a little before the birthing time, unless you'd like one here sooner to perhaps monitor him during the rest of his pregnancy."

Zim suddenly hugged Purple tightly.

Eyes growing wide at the hug and antennae perking, Purple blushed before hugging Zim back. "Should I take that as a 'yes' then?" he asked with a smile.

Nodding, Zim grinned. "Yes." he said, pulling away slightly to stare up at his leader.

Purple smiled back down at him. "When would you like me to send for the medic drone then?" he asked, more than willing to do it whenever Zim asked.

Zim thought it over. "Uhh...When do you think we should?" he asked, not too sure himself.

"Well, it would probably be best we got the medic drone here before the actual birth time. You know, so he can get set up wherever it is you're planning on having your mate deliver. That way he'd also have time to get better acquainted with your equipment too. But I could call him at any time."

"Well, Dib has around four to five months left...So any time before then would be good."

"Alright then...I'll make sure he's here at least a month or two before the birth. But I'll call him in advance just to let him know we'll need him here. That way it's not just some last minute surprise call."

Grinning, Zim's smile then fell away as a thought hit him. "But wait...Are you sure an Irken would know how to handle a live birth? Even if they are an advanced medical drone..." he bit his lip. "I don't want to risk anything with Dib..." he said, starting to have second thoughts now.

"Well...I do know ONE medic drone that might be able to help. He's an older Irken, but he dealt with a live birth in another species many years ago."

"Can you still get a hold of him?"

Purple smirked. "Of course. After all, we have him stationed on the Massive. He's worked with delivering several smeets over the years, mostly Irken, so I wanted him on board in the event Red and I ever decided to have our own smeets. But I could have him come here to help you and your mate with the birth." he said, knowing he'd be the best choice for them.

Zim grinned wide. "I'd like that...If it's not too much trouble." he said, feeling much better about the offer now.

"Oh, no trouble at all. I'll just call him up once we get back to your base."

Opening the door to the bedroom, Zim grinned wide. "Thank you, my Tallest." he bowed his head slightly to the other.

"Anytime." Purple smiled wide.

From where he had been comforting the smeets, Dib looked up as Zim and Purple entered the room.

Zim looked to Dib. "Hey, feeling any better?" he asked his mate as he made his way to the bed.

Looking back up at Zim, Dib shivered slightly. "A little...They're at least starting to calm down now..." he said, running his hand soothingly over his stomach again.

Joining Dib on the bed, Zim smiled. "Pur says he can get us a med drone that can help with the birth." he said, nuzzling Dib affectionately.

"Hmm?" Dib lifted an antenna as he sent Zim a confused look. "A med drone? Y-You mean like a doctor? B-But I thought Irkens didn't have live births." he reminded the other.

"Well, we don't..."

"But this drone has delivered a live birth before for another race. I'm sure he could do it for you."

Dropping his gaze down to give it some thought, Dib then blinked up at Purple unsure. "Well..." his eyes suddenly widened and a blush spread across his face. "W-Wait a minute...I-I thought you were delivering them for me, Zim!" he instantly looked back at the Irken, face a bright red as he held the covers up close to himself, as though to hide behind. While he understood the purpose of having a doctor there, he wasn't so sure he would be all too happy having anybody else seeing him naked while delivering.

"Well...I was when they were still eggs...But I don't know anything about live births..."

All the life draining right out of him, Dib seemed to stiffen up at those words. "But! But!" he looked at Zim desperately, not liking the idea at all. "Can't you just read up on it or something?!" he pulled the covers up over his head now, so horribly embarrassed.

"No, Dib. I can't...I was never given medical training to begin with..." Zim said, more firmly now with a hint of finality to his voice.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 115. =3 Until next time~


	114. Chapter 116

ZADR Orange Chapter 116

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

His antennae wilting, Dib could only shudder at Zim's response.

Nuzzling him gently, Zim sighed. "It'll be okay, Dib. I'll be there the whole time to make sure you're okay." he said, trying to keep the other calm.

"But you promised me nobody else would have to see me naked!" Dib exclaimed as he pulled the covers off of himself.

Again, Zim sighed. "I know I did, Dib...But you don't have to be completely naked..." he said, trying to convince Dib anyways.

"No! I don't want anyone else in the room with us!" Dib pulled the covers back over himself stubbornly.

"What about Jack and Rose?"

"Umm...Zim?" Purple came up to the Irken and placed a hand on his shoulder before leading him back over towards the door. "I think it's pretty obvious your mate isn't going to agree to this no matter what you say. Perhaps it would be better if we just got the medic drone here before he can talk you out of it. After all, we both know it's for the best that you have one here." he whispered quietly to the other so Dib wouldn't hear.

His antennae wilting, Zim sighed and nodded at Purple before making his way back to the bed to snuggle up to Dib.

Still hidden under the covers, Dib let out a small whine at the nuzzle, not wanting to come out from under them.

"Come on, Dib. Let's just relax and let the smeets calm down..."

"Umm...Do you want me to leave again?" Purple asked, standing back and feeling slightly uncomfortable now.

"No, it's okay. You don't have to..."

Trying to pull away from Zim, Dib shifted under the covers, letting out another small whine when the kicking grew worse again.

"Diiiib." Zim whined a little.

Finding himself unable to pull away from Zim, Dib let out a small whimper, breaking down into sobs underneath the covers a few moments later, still upset about the medic drone.

"Oh, Dib, shhh...It's okay..." Zim held Dib close, nuzzling him and kissing his antennas.

Sobbing to himself lightly, Dib could only turn over onto his side to hide his face in Zim's chest, more than a little bit tired out by everything that had happened that day.

Rocking a little, Zim held Dib tightly as he lowered a hand to rub his belly.

Peeking inside the room, Rose knocked on the door lightly. "Hey, I brought Dib some mil-" she cut herself short when she noticed Dib crying. "Oh no...What happened now?" she asked, making her way into the room to set down the warm milk next to the bed.

Looking up at her, Zim sighed. "He doesn't want anyone to see him naked..." he blurted out, throwing Rose a little off guard.

Slipping out of the room, Purple sighed quietly, feeling unneeded.

"See him naked?" Rose glanced down at Dib. "But he's not naked." she said before looking back up at Zim.

Zim sighed again. "When he gives birth he will be..." he said, hugging Dib closer.

"Oooh...Well, I'm not so sure that can be avoided. But childbirth is really a beautiful thing, Dib." Rose said, sitting down on the bed next to them. "You don't have to be embarrassed about it. You're bringing new life into this world." she smiled, reaching out a hand to run through his hair. "And nobody besides Zim needs to see you naked if you don't want them to." she said, still not knowing about the medic drone.

"But he wants to bring in an Irken doctor even though he promised me nobody else would have to see me naked!" Dib exploded, bursting into tears all over again.

Zim whimpered. "But, Dib, we need help on this! I don't know how to deliver live smeets! And I don't want anything bad to happen!" he exploded back on the other.

"Oh, Dib...You know Zim just wants what's best for you and the smeets. I can understand you not wanting anyone else to be in the room, but I'm going to have to agree with Zim on this one. A human doctor just doesn't seem to be the best course of action right now. So you should be considering yourself lucky if you can get at least an Irken one here to monitor it."

Nuzzling Dib, Zim smiled up at him, hoping he'd listen.

Finally bringing his teary-eyed gaze back up to look at them after a few moments of silence, Dib's antennae drooped as he finally gave in. "...Alright..." his voice came out in a whisper. "...For the smeets..." he said before dropping his gaze back down to the blankets.

Kissing him, Zim smiled sadly. "Good." he said with a nod when Dib agreed.

Going to hide his face in Zim's chest, Dib sniffled wetly, antennae shivering.

Rose smiled also. "Alright, Dib, I brought you some warm milk to drink." she picked up the glass and handed it to him. "Why don't you try to get some sleep now." she caressed his cheek lightly before standing up to leave the room. Upon leaving the room, she bumped into Purple.

"Oh, umm...I'm sorry?" Purple stepped back out of her way.

"Hey...What are you doing standing out here alone...?" Rose reached up a hand to place on Purple's cheek gently. "Is everything alright?" she asked, sensing just the opposite.

Looking away, Purple sighed but leaned into her touch. "I miss Red...But I know he doesn't miss me...I want my own smeets so much..." he breathed in shakily.

"Oh, now don't say that..." Rose pulled him into a warm embrace. "I'm sure that if you're missing him as much as you say you are, he's missing you just as much too. And remember...You can't just give up on having smeets yet. Jack and I spent years trying to have babies and no matter how many times I just felt like giving up, we kept at it until we were finally able to conceive. So you can't just give all hope up yet." she said, knowing exactly how he felt.

Sadly, Purple smiled. "But I can't even try..." he reminded her of Red's refusal to sleep with him.

"Now, don't give me any of that either. You two are spending some time apart right now, which can be good for couples. But the second you two are together again, you just remember what I told you about getting him into bed with you. If you really want those smeets, you have to do everything in your power to get your mate."

Laughing a little, Purple grinned. "You're very devious." he smiled slyly at Rose.

Rose could only send him a small smirk at those words. "Oh, I can be." she then took hold of his arm. "Come on. In case you need just a little more motivation..." she turned to knock on the door again before peeking her head in on Zim and Dib. "Mind if we come back in for a few minutes?" she addressed the half-asleep Dib and fully awake Zim.

"Uhh...Sure." Zim glanced at Dib as the two entered.

Rose led Purple up to the bed side. "Now remember, Purple. Love is a battlefield. You have to fight for what you want." she knelt down near Dib, who was nodding off now, yawning tiredly. "THIS is what you're fighting for." she brought his hand up to place on Dib's belly, a flutter of movement rippling beneath it.

As he felt them move, Purple gasped, this being the first time he had ever felt anything like this.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 116. =3 Until next time~


	115. Chapter 117

A/N: I would sit here and give you guys some long-winded explanation as to why this chapter took me so long to get posted, but given I have the flu and really don't feel like typing up everything that's prevented me from working on and posting this story, I think I'll just give you the short version instead.

I ran out of pre-written chapters.

That's all there really is to it. So basically, I have to reficafy chapters from this point on. So sorry to say it, but updates will be slowing down again after this point.

That being said, I hope you guys otherwise enjoy my revamp of Chapter 117 and onwards.

ZADR Orange Chapter 117

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Smiling at Purple's reaction to feeling the smeets move, Rose ran her thumb over the surface of his hand gently before pulling her own hand away to allow Purple more freedom of movement. "The smeets you'll have won't move, but they'll still be alive like this, even if they are in eggs. That's what you're fighting for." she said, hoping he would understand now why giving up just wasn't an option.

Smiling even more at the continued movement, Purple nodded his head at those words.

"If that's not enough motivation to make you keep trying, then I don't know what is."

Not really seeming to mind all the touching in that moment, Dib's antennae twitched as he merely dozed off against Zim.

Able to feel the movement continuing, Pur kept his hand pressed against Dib's belly. "Do they always move this much?" he asked after a moment, not so sure he could imagine what it would be like to have something constantly moving inside of him.

Zim laughed a little. "For Dib they do." he said, knowing they most often responded to Dib's emotional states.

"Does it hurt him?"

Zim shook his head. "Only when they kick REALLY hard." he then said, thankful that didn't happen often.

Purple smiled at that bit of information. "No wonder it hurt him so much when the eggs hatched inside him. They must have been kicking really hard back then to get out of their shells." he said, still quite shocked that the eggs had hatched inside of Dib's body.

Smiling sadly, Zim nodded. "Yeah..." he agreed, a part of him not minding the transition despite the difficulties he knew it would bring Dib later in the pregnancy. Although it was scary to think that Dib would have to give live birth at some point, he couldn't help but find a certain sort of pleasure out of feeling them move within Dib's body.

Turning over in the bed slightly, Dib clung to Zim after a moment.

Smiling, Zim nuzzled him. "He's had a rough time..." he then said, thinking back on all the obstacles they had been forced to overcome thus far.

"...I'm sorry...I think that's partially mine and Red's fault..." Purple pulled his hand back to himself, looking away to the side.

"No, no! It's not your fault! It's mostly been mine..."

"Well...He's still lucky to have you. And those smeets are lucky to have you. You're going to make a wonderful father to them." Purple smiled at Zim. "You know...I spent so long wanting smeets, even before Red and I became the Tallest. But now...I think I just want Red back...I don't want to give up on having smeets, and I won't...But I don't want to lose Red in the process..." he said, a part of him beginning to miss his co-ruler despite the lack of attention he'd been receiving from the other lately.

Zim nodded. "You won't lose him. He loves you. And you'll get smeets soon. Zim knows it." he reassured his leader, knowing they really weren't so different in that respect.

Purple smiled even wider. "You're right...I just worry too much. This is the way things were meant to be. I mean, can you just imagine what things would have been like if WE had ended up together?" he pointed back and forth between himself and Zim.

Snorting, Zim laughed loudly. "You would have made Zim carry the smeets." he snickered to himself at the mere thought.

Smirking back at him, Purple turned away to lean his back against the bed as he sat on the floor, tilting his head up a bit and staring into space. "Not intentionally...The law would have prohibited me from being the carrier because of my taller height." he said, the image in his own head of Zim heavily pregnant with smeets causing a small giggle to escape him.

Nodding at those words, Zim glanced at Dib. "Lucky for me, that didn't apply here...Dib is a bit taller than me..." he said, glad that height didn't hold any weight here on Earth.

"I always hated that law...If we had ended up together, I would have much rather been the carrier. And I was just lucky Red was the same height as me. We were able to choose who was on top and who was on bottom. But if I had ended up with anyone else, I wouldn't have been allowed the option to carry even if I wanted to. But I'm glad you weren't faced with that problem down here. I don't think I could imagine you carrying smeets."

Zim snickered. "Yes, Zim is not a carrier." he said, shaking his head as he knew he was far too dominant to ever let anybody top him in bed.

"And I'm not a dominant. Our roles could have never been reversed. That's why we couldn't be together. That's why that one time we tried to mate didn't work. I don't think either of us was comfortable with our roles in it."

Grinning, Zim nodded. "Yeah... That's kind of why I avoided mating back on Irk... Zim was the smallest there..." he said, having always cursed his short height back then.

Purple looked back at Zim with his own grin. "Well, you've grown taller since then, so I'm certain you would have been able to find a more suitable mate than you had back then if you had ever returned to Irk. Someone...who would have made it feel right for you...I remember my first time mating with Red. It was the first time I ever felt comfortable mating with ANYBODY. He didn't fumble through it like I would have." he sighed at the memory, loving that he had barely had to do any work that first time.

Smiling, Zim shook his head. "I could never leave Dib though. It feels right with him." he said as he went to pet the hybrid's head gently, remembering the first night they'd had sex together and how perfect it had felt.

Bringing up his hands to make a small box with his fingers, Purple then turned to frame both Zim's and Dib's images within it. "Yep, you two definitely seem as though you were made for each other when I look at you." he then smiled, dropping his hands back down. "And it must mean something if you two were able to conceive on your first try." he said, only wishing things could have been that easy for him and Red.

Grinning wider, Zim nuzzled Dib closely. "It wasn't exactly on purpose..." he said, his cheeks momentarily flushing a darker shade of green.

"Hmm? You mean this pregnancy was accidental?" Purple asked, tilting his head to one side. "I was convinced you had done it to keep Tak from killing you like she had been ordered to do by Red." he said, having not realized that the pregnancy was unplanned.

Zim laughed a little nervously. "No... Tak being here was why Dib had come back to my base...But he had worked himself up so much I had to give him a large dose of medication to calm him back down...And...It kind of made him horny by the time I got him down to my bedroom..." he explained how the whole thing had even come about.

Purple could only blink wide eyes at the other for several long moments. "What kind of medications were YOU giving him anyways?! Maybe I could use the same ones on Red at some point...Perhaps slip it into his drink the next time I see him..." he seemed to give it some serious thought.

Zim laughed nervously again. "Umm...Well, I was using some Vortian painkillers..." he said, fiddling with his fingers a bit as he hadn't meant to make it seem as though he had drugged the other on purpose.

"Vortian painkillers?" Purple said before falling silent for several long moments. "...Why didn't I ever think of that...? Those are really strong painkillers, and they can have all sorts of side effects." he said, knowing that said painkillers were very rarely used, even in the Massive's medical bay.

Zim nodded slightly. "I should have known not to use them..." he said, antennae drooping at his own carelessness on that night.

"Hm?" Purple lifted an antenna. "Why? You got to sleep with your mate. And you're getting smeets out of it in the end. What's the problem with that?" he asked, honestly wishing he had thought of that himself long ago.

"Well, Dib wasn't really happy at first...He never wanted us to mate..."

"WH-WHAT?! He never wanted you two to mate?!" Purple looked at Zim incredulously. "B-But wait...If he never wanted you two to mate, then why did you mate a few days earlier?" he asked, not understanding how anybody in a relationship wouldn't want to mate, reproductive reasons aside.

Zim smiled shyly. "He changed his mind...Or maybe the smeets changed it for him..." he shrugged, really not knowing what it was that had changed Dib's mind in the end.

"The smeets? I think I'd be terrified to mate if I were carrying live smeets inside of me. What if they got hurt?!"

Zim shrugged.

"Well actually, it doesn't work like that." Rose smiled at him, cutting in on the conversation since neither Zim nor Purple seemed to have much experience with concepts surrounding the carrying of live young.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 117. =3 Until next time~


	116. Chapter 118

ZADR Orange Chapter 118

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Having almost forgotten Rose was even in the room with them, Purple turned to send her a rather curious look when she cut in on his and Zim's conversation. "Eh? Then how does it work?" he asked, rather intrigued now by the human anatomy and its many capabilities in the reproductive department.

"Well, you see, the baby is protected while it is developing."

"Protected? So Zim isn't hurting them whenever he mates with his mate?"

Smiling, Rose shook her head. "Not at all." she said in response to his question.

"Well, that's convenient."

"Mmmmm..." Dib yawned in his sleep, antennae twitching against Zim's face.

Laughing quietly, Zim licked at one of them.

"Mmm..." Dib shifted in his sleep again, turning over onto his belly before his antennae shuddered at the attention.

Zim yawned. "When do you think the fireworks will stop?" he asked, looking back at Rose.

"Well..." Rose glanced out the window, biting down on her bottom lip. "They usually go on all through the night, at least until midnight." she said before looking back at Zim. "If you'd like, you're all welcome to spend the night here. I really don't think walking home that late at night would be the best idea. At least, not tonight of all nights. People can go a little crazy when it comes to this holiday, what with all the fireworks and drinking." she said, really not feeling comfortable with the thought of them walking home so late at night.

Zim bit his lip nervously. "Dib wouldn't like imposing..." he began to say, knowing already how Dib felt about all the trouble they'd caused Jack and Rose that day.

"Oh, you wouldn't be imposing. Besides, I don't think Dib will be objecting to it anytime soon." Rose gestured to the already sleeping boy. "And personally, -I- would feel a lot better having you spend the night here rather than sending you out to walk home so late at night. So, what do you say? Perhaps we could even continue our shopping trip that got cut short tomorrow. I know there are a lot of things you still have to get for the smeets." she tried to tempt him into staying, if not for them then for her own peace of mind.

Yawning, Zim looked towards Purple. "What about Pur?" he asked, thinking it might be awkward having his leader and ex staying in the same room with both him and Dib, knowing already how Dib would react to it upon waking up.

"We could get him set up on the couch if he doesn't mind sleeping there for the night."

"I don't mind." Purple smiled and headed for the door. "I'm actually kind of tired now. Do you think...?" he gestured out the door, not wanting to be the cause of anymore trouble that night himself.

"Of course! Just let me grab some blankets and pillows, and I'll get you set up." Rose stood up with a smile to head out with Purple, telling him about how he could help Zim and Dib pick out more clothes for the smeets tomorrow. "Goodnight, Zim. Goodnight, Dib." she then called back before leaving the room completely with Purple.

Smiling, Zim yawned again. "Good night..." he called back after them quietly before turning back to Dib and cuddling up to him, kicking his boots off as soon as he was settled. "Love you..." he then whispered into Dib's antennae before kissing him goodnight one last time.

Remaining fast asleep, Dib smacked his lips together contently before sighing out gently, happily curling himself around his extended belly in Zim's arms.

Laughing at this, Zim watched him a bit longer before he finally fell asleep himself.

After sleeping through the entire night with hardly any stirring, it wasn't until the next morning that Dib finally began to wake up, blinking his eyes open slowly only to see another pair of eyes staring down at him. "AH!" he jumped back a bit, eyes flying wide open as he backed up in the bed away from Stella, who had been sitting on the bed and watching him. Her younger sister, Kira, meanwhile, sat on top of Zim's chest, watching the other sleep soundly.

Antennas flicking at Dib's shout, Zim snapped to a sitting position. "Wha happen?!" he slurred his words before cracking his eyes open tiredly and looking around the room confused.

Flustered, Dib blinked wide eyes at Stella. "What are you doing in here?!" he practically demanded, having forgotten that he'd fallen asleep at Jack's and Rose's house.

Stella grinned wide. "Watching you sleep." she said as though it were obvious.

"You sleep a LOT." Kira then said, sitting up in Zim's lap where she had fallen back into when the other sat up so suddenly.

Zim just stared at her dumbfounded for a few moments. "D-Don't you two have a bed time or something?! Go away!" he then said once he had gained back all his senses.

"In case you haven't noticed, it's morning already."

Staring up at Zim with wide eyes, Kira then smiled and reached up take hold of one of Zim's antennae. "What are these?" she asked, giving them the smallest of tugs, not painfully but enough to get Zim's attention.

Squeaking at the tug to his antenna, Zim reacted by shoving her away. "None of your business!" he exclaimed as he brought two hands up to clap over his antennae protectively.

Letting out a short lived scream as she toppled backwards off the bed, Kira then sat up on the floor and let out a howling cry for the shove.

"Hey! Keep your hands off my sister!" Stella reached down to pick up her sister and hug her close. "She just wanted to know what was up with the antennae things on your head! You didn't HAVE to shove her like that!" she glared at Zim.

Zim merely glared back hatefully. "And YOU didn't have to barge in on us while we were sleeping! Dib is taken! So leave us ALONE!" he bared his teeth at her threateningly.

"I'm not TRYING to take Dib away from you! I found Kira in here watching you two sleep! You just happened to wake up when I was about to take her out of here! But that still doesn't give you the right to try and hurt her! She's six for crying out loud! You're at least 10 years older than her, you big bully! So why don't you try picking on someone your own size?!"

Zim growled at those words. "Is that a threat or a challenge?!" he spoke through grit teeth as it was taking everything in him not to jump the girl right then and there.

Stella narrowed her eyes on Zim. "Just keep your hands off of my sister!" she said, holding Kira even closer for protection.

"Keep your hands off my Dib!"

"I didn't even touch him!"

A deep growl coming from him, Zim glared even more. He wasn't quite sure why he was so moody that morning, but he didn't want anyone near his Dib in that moment. Just the mere thought made him want to tear someone limb from limb.

Watching the exchange of words from Stella's arms with scared eyes, Kira let out another howling cry, wanting to hide far away from Zim.

"Now look what you did! You scared her! I think you owe my sister an apology!

Pulling back his antennas, Zim, however, just bared his teeth at the girls even more. "Get out." he said in a scarily quiet voice.

"You know, you really are a jerk!" Stella screamed before pulling Kira more into her arms and storming out the room.

Keeping his teeth bared and antennas slicked back, Zim didn't relax until he heard Stella go down the stairs. Once they were out of hearing range, he then slumped in his spot suddenly, unable to quite remember what had just happened. Looking back up at Dib and smiling when he realized the other was awake, he then cuddled up next to him again.

Staring down at the covers beneath him however, Dib merely sat somewhat stiffly as Zim snuggled up to him. "Wow...Is that the way you're going to be treating our smeets...?" he finally broke the silence once he could form words again.

Zim froze at those words. "Huh?" he looked at the other truly confused, not certain what Dib was talking about.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 118. =3 Until next time~


	117. Chapter 119

ZADR Orange Chapter 119

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Tightening his grip on the bed sheets beneath him, Dib could hardly bear to even look at Zim in that moment as the other's actions had been anything but called for. "I can understand you being mad at Stella, but did you really have to be so hard on her younger sister?" he pulled his knees in to himself, as though to protect his own smeets from Zim's brash nature.

Zim looked at Dib completely lost. "What are you talking about?" he asked, Dib's body language only confusing him even more.

"I'm talking about you pushing her six-year-old sister off the bed just because she touched your antennas!"

Zim looked around the room and then back at Dib. "What?" he looked worried for the other now. "Are you okay?" he then asked, not knowing what Dib was yelling at him for or what had set him off in the first place.

"What do you mean 'What'? You just shoved Stella's sister off the bed! Quit acting like you have no idea what I'm talking about!" Dib glared slightly at Zim, irritated by how lightly the other seemed to be treating said situation. "I know you were mad, but that still didn't give you the right to do that...What if it had been one of our own smeets, and somebody had decided to shove one of them off a bed?!" he tightened his grip on the bed sheets even more at the thought.

"Well, I would have killed them." Zim growled slightly before shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts. "But I really don't know what you're talking about..." he said again, feeling as though he were being blamed for something he had no memory of even doing.

Dib merely narrowed his eyes on Zim. "Don't give me that! I saw you just now doing exactly that to Stella's sister!" he said, standing up from the bed. "Now, when you're ready to apologize to her, I'll be waiting downstairs!" he then said before storming out of the room in a huff.

"...I don't know what you're talking about though..." Zim sighed and flopped back down onto the bed. "What just happened?" he then asked himself as he stared up at the ceiling, uncertain whether he should go after Dib or not.

Stalking into the kitchen where Stella and Kira were sitting at the table and Jack was preparing them some pancakes, Dib, meanwhile, slumped into the chair across from Stella, who merely glared at him before looking away, obviously still ticked off about what his boyfriend had done.

Without even turning from what he was doing, Jack proceeded to greet the hybrid upon his arrival. "Ah, good morning, Dib. Would you like some pancakes?" he asked, none the wiser to the tension that currently hung in the air.

"No...Thanks..." Dib sounded ticked himself as he went to rest his head in his arms at the table.

Jack glanced over at him. "Something wrong, Dib?" he then asked, able to pick up on the other's irritation in that moment.

"Do you mean other than Zim being a complete ass?" Dib said somewhat harshly.

"Oh no." Jack turned around to face Dib. "What's happened now?" he asked, wanting to know what the two were fighting about this time.

"Why don't you ask Stella? She was there. And unlike somebody else I know..." Dib glared back in the direction he had come from, "...she won't pretend like she has no idea what I'm talking about." he said, really not wanting to get into it again after the fight he and Zim had already had about it.

Cocking an eyebrow, Jack looked over at Stella now. "Stella? What happened?" he asked, having put his cooking on hold until he got a straight answer from at least one of them.

Pouting, Stella fisted her hands at the table. "That jerk up there shoved Kira off the bed! Just because she touched his stupid hair things." she put her hands on the top of her head to crudely imitate Zim's antennae.

"I told him he should apologize, but now he's acting like he has no idea what I'm talking about...I can't believe him!" Dib slammed one of his fists angrily against the table. "I can't believe he'd act this way! Especially when he knows we're expecting..." he stopped himself suddenly, eyes growing wide before he glanced over at Stella. "I-I mean, when he knows we're expecting to umm...to babysit for you and Rose when you have your baby!" he tried to cover up what he had almost said out loud in front of Stella and Kira.

Wondering why he had paused and what he was trying to cover up, Stella eyed Dib curiously for a moment.

Confused, Jack merely shook his head. "Well…I have no idea, Dib…I'm not exactly good at things like this...Relationships are more Rose's strong point...But maybe...Maybe you should tell Purple and see if he knows anything about why Zim would act that way." he suggested before turning back to face the hot pan on the stove.

"Pft...Like that will do any good...I think I've known Zim long enough to tell when he's just being a complete jerk about something...I mean, this is just like him! He gets so worked up over the stupidest things!" Dib sighed. "But I guess I could ask him when he gets up..." he said, unable to deny that there had definitely been something off about Zim that morning.

Sighing, Jack returned to the pancakes. "Oddly enough, Dib, Zim just doesn't seem like the kind of person to act that way without a reason..." he said, not wanting to take sides in the matter after having gotten to know both Zim and Dib.

"Maybe not with people he likes...But I saw it with my own two eyes! I was sitting right next to him when it happened! He was totally out of line!"

Jack shook his head. "I don't know what to say, Dib..." he sighed again and continued cooking.

Leaning in, Stella then proceeded to whisper into Dib's antenna. "You know, he's not just a jerk, but he's also hiding things too." she said in a quiet voice that only Dib could hear.

"Hmm?" Dib looked back at Stella, confused. "Hiding things? What do you mean by that?" he asked, knowing Zim could be a jerk sometimes, but unsure about what she meant by 'hiding things' other than his identity.

Stella grinned wide. "Well, he was showing something to Aunt Rose yesterday while you were gone at dinner. My mom asked what it was and he snapped that it wasn't any of her business. But it has something to do with you. I saw him put it in his back pack." she pointed a thumb to right where Zim's PAK would have sat on his back.

"Hiding something...that has to do with me?" Dib now looked really confused. "What would he be hiding from me though? He tells me everything..." he said, antennae drooping as he recalled the last time Zim had lied to him during the course of their relationship.

Stella shrugged. "Who knows, but Aunt Rose and Uncle Jack all seem in on it." she said, having noticed Jack take Zim somewhere shortly before dinner had begun last night.

"Th-They do?" Dib sent her a worried look before lifting his gaze back up to Jack. "I-Is it true he's hiding something from me, Jack?" he then asked, unsure whether he believed Stella about that or not.

Accidentally touching the hot pan, Jack yelped suddenly at Dib's question. "Wh-What? What do you mean?!" he asked all too nervously as he didn't want to be the one to blow Zim's surprise.

"Zim. Is he hiding something from me? Stella says he was showing off something to Rose yesterday at dinner while I was upstairs and that you knew about it too."

"Uhh, what? That's absurd." Jack laughed nervously. "Zim isn't hiding anything from you." he tried to cover up the initial shakiness in his voice.

Looking back down at the table as his antennae drooped, Dib could only sigh at those words. "I really hope you're right, Jack..." he said, not wanting to think about Zim lying to him again.

Smiling, Jack returned to the pancakes.

Fidgeting in his seat a bit before standing up to leave the kitchen quietly, Dib then headed on into the living room where Purple was sitting awake on the couch, seemingly watching some TV show that Rose's nephew seemed to be absorbed in with his father. Upon approaching closer, he then realized it was his father's show and a fairly old episode at that.

Purple noticed Dib approaching. "Mm, hi there." he waved to the other when he entered the room slowly.

"...Hey..." Dib dropped his gaze back down to the ground as he slumped down into the seat between Purple and Blaze's father on the couch. "What are you watching?" he then asked as though he didn't already know.

"I'm not really sure, but it's interesting." Purple said before looking back at the screen.

"What? You've never heard of Professor Membrane's show? The guy's a genius! He's had this show for nearly 20 years now. They're showing an all-day marathon today starting with some of the oldest episodes."

Purple laughed a little. "This guy's a lunatic..." he said as he watched the Professor zipping across the screen, performing all sorts of insane experiments.

Looking away, Dib spoke under his breath. "...You can say that again..." he said before then looking up when he heard a more feminine voice breaking through the sound barrier.

Blaze's father whistled lowly. "That may be, but for a lunatic, he sure did snatch up a good-looking wife. Shame they never had any kids. I heard his wife died a few years after this show began airing." he said, only recalling that the professor's wife had taken a leave of absence around the time the show first began picking up popularity on television.

"Hmm..." Purple nodded. "That's a real shame..." he said, unable to help but empathize with such a fate.

Staring at the image of his mother, smiling and moving about the screen with such grace, her voice something he had nearly forgotten about, Dib's antennae could only droop even lower. "What...What did she see in him...?" he gripped at the couch cushions tightly, hands shaking slightly as he did so.

Purple shrugged. "Probably what Zim see's in you. Or what I see in Red...We can't help who we fall in love with..." he said, not taking notice at first of Dib's inner struggle.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 119. =3 Until next time~


	118. Chapter 120

ZADR Orange Chapter 120

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Tensing up a bit at Purple's words to him, Dib could hardly contain himself any longer as his entire body shook with emotion. "I'm nothing like him! And I don't want Zim seeing anything in me that she thought she saw in him! Because I know there was nothing good in him that she could have possibly seen! Nothing!" he exploded on the other all too suddenly, tears stinging his eyes all the while.

Purple froze at the outburst. "O-Okay...What are you talking about?" he asked, not understanding why the other was getting so upset all of a sudden.

Tears slipping down his cheeks, Dib brought his arms up to hug himself tightly. "He was a lying jerk...He never cared about us...Never cared what would happen to us in the end..." he shook his head slowly. "I hate him!" he then exclaimed, not really answering the other's question as expected.

Purple merely stared at Dib confused. "You know him?" he then asked, pointing to the image of Membrane on the screen.

"Of course I know him. He's my father. Or at least he used to be...Before he kicked me and my sister out on the street!"

Purple fell quiet for a moment. "Wait a minute...I thought Jack and Rose were your parents..." he said, none of what Dib was telling him making sense at all.

Eyes wet with tears, Dib looked up at Purple with a confused look of his own now. "Wh-What? I-I never said Jack and Rose were my parents..." he said as he sniffled a bit, wiping at his eyes with one of his arms in an attempt to calm himself back down before his emotions got the better of him.

"No, but Zim- ...He lied, didn't he...?

"Zim...? Zim told you they were my parents...? But..." Dib clutched the couch even tighter.

"Are you okay?"

Pulling his knees up to his chest and hiding his face in his arms, Dib could only shake his head slowly.

"Uhh..." Purple didn't know what to do, looking around and then patting Dib on the back gently in an attempt to comfort him.

Dib, however, couldn't help but break down as Rose was making her way down the stairs.

"Is everything okay down here? I heard screaming."

Purple jumped at her almost the moment she walked into the room. "You! Do something!" he bit his lip, looking back and forth between her and the crying Dib as he wasn't good at dealing with such situations at this himself.

Quickly making her way over to Dib, Rose pulled him into a warm embrace when she realized he was crying. "Oh, Dib...What's wrong?" she asked as she held the hybrid close to her.

"I want my mom..." Dib broke down even more, hiding his face in his hands.

"Ohh, Dib..." Rose pulled him closer and held on to him tightly as she rocked back and forth a little.

"I...I...I want my mom..." Dib continued to whimper out between sobs as he broke down completely now. "You can't replace her! Nobody can!" he then exploded on Rose without any prior warning.

Rose flinched at the outburst. "I-I'm not trying to replace your mom, Dib..." she hid her initial surprise as much as she could, just wanting to calm him before he had the chance to become anymore upset in that moment.

"THEN WHY DOES HE THINK YOU'RE MY MOM?!" Dib pointed at Purple before curling in on himself even more again, the tears coming in a flood now.

"Oh, Dib... I thought Zim had filled you in on that. We thought that up as an excuse for Jack and I to be there...I didn't know you still weren't in on it..."

"Zim never told me anything!" Dib cried, feeling as though his heart had been ripped out, his trust in Jack, Rose, Zim, and just about everyone else around him gone now.

Rose watched him concerned. "Are you okay, Dib?" she asked, thinking there was more to this than just what had been revealed thus far.

"No! I'm tired of him lying to me...Of EVERYBODY lying to me...All the time!"

"Dib...What happened?"

Pulling down on his antennae and squeezing his eyes closed tightly, Dib could only shake his head even more, not wanting to answer that and have to relive everything that had happened to him. "...I-I almost forgot her voice..." his words came out shaky, the only thing he would say in that moment.

Figuring Dib was just having a hard time with the pregnancy and getting emotional, Rose looked over at the television momentarily before returning her attention back to Dib. "Do you want me to turn it off?" she asked, thinking that might be part of what was setting him off in that moment.

Merely curling in on himself even more at that question, Dib didn't answer at first. "...I just want her to be alive again..." his voice suddenly fell down to a silent whisper.

Sighing at those words, Rose looked away. "I'm sorry, Dib..." she said as she knew nothing she did could make that desire come true.

Not wanting to hear it but rather just be left alone, Dib returned to sobbing into his arms again for the time being.

Sighing again, Rose let go of Dib before backing away slowly.

Bringing his arms up once Rose had backed away, Dib hugged himself as a sharp pain in his chest caused him to whimper out softly, his heart in pain.

Wishing she could do more to help him, Rose considered her options for a moment before looking up towards the room Zim and Dib had shared the night before. 'Maybe Zim knows what's going on...' she thought as she decided to give Dib some space to calm down before coming back to him.

As Rose left to head upstairs and find Zim, Dib, meanwhile, just sniffled wetly before letting out an even wetter cry.

Looking back towards him, Rose kept going regardless, knowing some time alone would be best for Dib in that moment. Once she reached the top of the stairs, she then headed for the room Zim and Dib had spent the night in, knocking on the door lightly. "Zim, are you awake?" she asked through the door, not wanting to disturb him in the event he was still sleeping, unaware of the fight Zim had had with Stella and Dib earlier that morning.

"Come in..."

Slowly opening the door some more, Rose peeked her head in on Zim. "I was just wondering if I could talk to you about D-" she began before cutting herself short upon seeing Zim sitting with his knees to his chest in the bed. "Hey...What's wrong?" she asked as she entered the room fully now and closed the door behind her. "Don't tell me you and Dib are fighting again." she said, Dib's current mood seeming to suggest it even more now.

Zim shook his head slowly as if in a dream. "I don't know what happened...I was asleep and something woke me up...then I cuddled up with Dib and he started yelling at me..." he explained to her, still in quite a bit of shock himself over how suddenly the other had exploded on him that morning.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 120. =3 Until next time~


	119. Chapter 121

ZADR Orange Chapter 121

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Sending Zim a confused look of her own at his words, Rose sighed and approached the bed to take a seat down next him. "What? You mean for nothing? Now, that doesn't sound like Dib to me...Did he say why he was yelling? Maybe he was just being hormonal. After all, he seems to be having a lot of emotional breakdowns lately." she said, trying to help him come up with a more reasonable explanation as to why he may have yelled at him earlier that morning.

"He said I shoved one of the worm-smeets off the bed..."

Rose sent him an even more confused look now. "'Worm-smeets?' Do you mean Dib? Is that why he's so upset right now?" she asked, thinking maybe Zim had pushed him out of bed on accident that morning.

"Huh? No, those little worm-smeets running around downstairs...The little female one. He said I shoved her off the bed..."

"You mean Kira? He said you shoved her off the bed? That's strange. Why would he say that...? Unless you did...Did you?" Rose looked back up at Zim.

"No!" Zim shook his head feverishly. "A-At least, I don't think I did..." he said before looking away, his antennae drooping as he honestly couldn't remember in that moment.

"You...don't remember? Well, is it possible that something like that could have happened and maybe you bumped your head on something and forgot?"

"I-I don't think so...I don't recall leaving the bed..."

"Well, maybe you hit your head on the headboard. You wouldn't have to get up out of bed to do that...Because I really don't think Dib would lie about something like that...He's not the kind of person to make up things."

"But...Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, Zim. Dib didn't say anything about it?"

Heaving out a heavy sigh, Zim pulled his knees in to his chest to answer her question.

Sending him a sympathetic look, Rose sighed herself. "I'm sorry, Zim...I...want to believe you about all this...Perhaps Dib dreamed the entire thing up and thought it was real." she suggested as a possible explanation for why he would say something like that.

"Maybe..."

"Do you want to come downstairs with me to see if you, me, and Dib can get this all straightened out?"

"...I don't know if he'll listen..."

"Well, Zim...You're going to have to face him at some point...And the only way we're going to know what really happened is if all three of us go to ask Kira since she seems to be the one involved in all of this. She'll know whether it's a dream on Dib's part or amnesia on yours. Now, come on...I'll go with you." Rose offered him her hand to take. "And I promise we'll get this all worked out. Because I do believe you're telling me the truth." she sent him a small reassuring smile.

Smiling sadly himself, Zim took her hand before slowly getting himself out of the bed.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Zim. We'll all sit down and get this worked out in no time." Rose said as she led him out of the room and towards the stairs to head on down them. "After all, the two of you can't keep moping around for the rest of the day like this. We've still got plans to head on out to the mall in a little while so we can finish our shopping trip from the other day." she reminded him, thinking that shopping for their smeets might lift everybody's spirits after the morning they'd had.

Zim's eyes widened at that reminder. "Oh right! I forgot about that..." he said, a part of him hoping that really would cheer Dib right back up.

"Yeah, and I don't want you two fighting while we're there. You two are supposed to be doing this shopping together. I'm sure that's what Dib wants." Rose said as she lead him to the living room where Dib sat with his knees to his chest on the couch, hugging himself tightly and sniffling wetly, tears still slipping through his tightly shut eyes and down his cheeks.

Zim swallowed nervously when he saw the other huddled up on the couch. "Dib, are you okay?" he asked cautiously at first, half-expecting the other to explode on him again.

Jumping a bit at hearing the other's voice, Dib's eyes snapped wide open to stare up at Zim and Rose before he shrank down in his seat a bit more, wanting the pull away from them as he could only break down all over again, bringing his hands back up to cover his face.

When Dib began breaking down all over again, Zim rushed to Dib's side. "Oh, Dib, what's wrong? Tell Zim." he nuzzled the other in an attempt to coax the hybrid into telling him.

Just wanting to be left alone, Dib struggled to pull away when the other took him into his arms. "Don't touch me! Just let me go! You can't replace her! You can't...You can't replace her..." his struggles became weaker and weaker as all his energy just seemed to drain right out of him, leaving him shivering on the couch in the other's arms.

Zim looked at the other confused and hurt by those words. "What do you mean, Dib? I'm not trying to replace anyone..." he tried again to soothe the other from his shaken-up state.

"He was upset earlier because he thought you were using me to replace his mom."

Whimpering softly at those words, Dib shook even more as his body was racked with sobs. "...Stop trying to make me forget her..." he said between sobs, his entire body heaving at intervals.

"...I wasn't trying to make you forget, Dib..." Zim nuzzled him gently and pulled him in close. "I'd never want you to forget...Don't you remember that old Irken custom I told you about?" he reminded the other of how Irkens dealt with death amongst their own species, always holding the deceased individual in high praise even after their passing away.

"B-B-But y-you s-said I-I'll never be with her a-a-again!" Dib's voice shook uncontrollably as he couldn't get the Irken's earlier words out of his head from directly after he had been turned into a hybrid.

"Oh, Dib..." Zim kissed him gently, holding him tight. "I'm sorry. I was angry...I shouldn't have said that..." he said, instantly regretting how he had yelled at the other back then.

Continuing to cry and cry for several more minutes into his hands, Dib's antennae could only fall back to droop at the small kiss as his upset mood in that moment was causing the smeets to shift about uncomfortably.

Resting a hand on Dib's belly to rub gently, Zim tried to soothe him and the smeets. "Shhh...It's okay, Dib..." he shushed the other with warm affections and words.

Not believing the other as he sobbed to himself for several more long minutes, Dib could only shake his head at those words before very slowly beginning to calm back down, his antennae shuddering as the belly-rubbing finally began to get to him, leaving him sniffling in the Irken's lap.

Holding Dib close, Zim continued to rub his belly and keep him soothed, remaining silent all the while as he was worried something might send Dib into another fit were he to speak again.

After a few more minutes, Dib finally began to calm for the most part, his cheek resting against the Irken's side comfortably as he blinked the last of his tears away and breathed in and out slowly.

Zim rocked him gently when he sensed a shift in the atmosphere. "Feeling better?" he finally asked once he was certain the other was no long quite so upset.

When Dib doesn't respond right away, Rose spoke up herself. "Why don't we head into the kitchen and get you both something to eat?" she suggested, thinking a nice breakfast would calm everybody's nerves at this point.

After several long moments of silence, Dib finally nodded his head slightly in agreement, still remaining silent all the while.

Kissing him, Zim then lifted him up bridal style, heaving a little as he carried him to the kitchen to have breakfast.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 121. =3 Until next time~


	120. Chapter 122

ZADR Orange Chapter 122

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Just as Jack finished up preparing a large batch of pancakes, Dib's antennae twitched before falling back as Zim carried him into the kitchen.

Turning as Zim, Dib, and Rose entered the kitchen, Jack smiled. "Hungry?" he asked, leaning forward to kiss Rose on the cheek before carrying the plate of waffles over to the table where Stella and Kira were still waiting.

Seeing Stella, Zim almost instantly changed demeanor, bearing his teeth and growling at her.

Stella glared back at him. "What are you looking at, you jerk?!" she snapped when she noticed him taking a defensive stance across the room from her.

Noticing this also, Kira looked up at Zim with scared eyes before letting out a small screaming yelp as she scrambled out of her seat to hide behind Stella.

Zim merely continued to glare at them, making sure they kept their distance from Dib.

Staring up at Zim with his own wide eyes now, Dib shrank down in his arms a bit.

Confused, Rose looked back and forth between Stella and Zim before returning her gaze to Stella, sending her a stern look. "Stella, that's a horrible thing to say to Zim. Why would you say something like that?" she said, wanting an explanation.

"He shoved Kira off a bed!"

Blinking her eyes open more at Stella's words, Rose looked back at Zim and Dib then over at Kira, hiding behind Stella. "Kira...Sweetheart...Can you come over here for a second?" she asked, kneeling down and holding out her arms for the girl.

Still on guard, Zim backed away as Kira approached, Dib remaining in his arms all the while.

Stopping a few feet away from Rose, Kira glanced up at Zim before running the rest of the way to her aunt and burying her face in Rose's shirt, clinging tightly to her.

Rose hugged her close. "Kira, is that what happened?" she asked before pulling away slightly to give her a good look up and down, just to make sure she was alright.

Nodding scared, Kira clung tighter to Rose.

Rose looked back at Zim a second time. "Well, Zim? I'm afraid you're a bit outnumbered at the moment. Are you sure you don't remember anything at all about what happened? If Dib had just dreamed the entire thing up then Stella and Kira wouldn't have known anything about it." she said, the whole situation confusing her greatly at this point.

His eyes remaining fixed in a glare on Kira and then at Stella and then back again, Zim didn't hear Rose at all as he slowly backed away from the two, holding Dib close and growling.

"Zim?"

When Zim squeezed him just a bit too tightly, Dib let out a small, pained whimper. "Ow...Zim..." he felt the tears coming again as he struggled to pull free but to no avail, Zim seeming to be lost in his glare.

Continuing to back out of the room in a daze, his hateful glare never lessening, Zim held on to Dib as if someone would take him and the smeets away if he loosened his hold on him.

"Z-Zim!" Dib yelped out, struggling even more when the other only continued to tighten his hold on him. "Y-You're hurting me!" he exclaimed as he then began trying to twist himself out of Zim's grip.

Not responding until he was out of the room and away from the girls, Zim's grip then loosened on the other and he stared at Dib in a daze. "What happened?" he asked, confused now as he could have sworn he had just been on his way into the kitchen.

Shaken by the other's reaction to Stella and Kira, Dib stared up at Zim with wide, fearful eyes, breathing shaky as he was afraid to pull away for fear that the Irken would squeeze him even tighter again.

Zim looked at him confused. "What's wrong?" he asked, not understanding why Dib was sending him such a terrified look now.

Pulling back and letting out another small sob as he curled in on himself, Dib could only shake his head as he held his stomach where the other had squeezed him so hard.

Zim pet Dib gently. "Oh, Dib, tell me what's wrong?" he tried to coax the hybrid into telling him what had upset him so much.

"You're not yourself anymore!" Dib exploded in an upset tone, not liking the way Zim had been acting all morning. "You're not..." he let out another sob, just wanting Zim to go back to way he was before.

Zim stared at him confused. "...What do you mean?" he asked in a fluster of his own now.

"You're hurting everybody! And you don't even care! A-And it scares me when you get mad...I-I don't want our smeets to see that side of you..." Dib cried some more, coughing into his hands hoarsely when he found himself unable to get his breathing under control.

Zim's antennae wilted. "I don't..." he was lost and didn't know what was going on. All he knew was that Dib was crying.

Exiting the kitchen after a few moments to find Zim and Dib back in the living room area, Rose sent them both a concerned look. "Zim, what happened back there?" she asked as she approached close enough to run a soothing hand through Dib's hair. "Why did you so suddenly just leave the room like that?" she asked, having expected Zim to at least say something before leaving.

Zim stared at her. "What are you talking about? I haven't entered yet..." he said, not remembering the encounter despite how he tried.

Rose sent him a confused look at that. "Alright...Something's wrong, Zim. We were just in there. You seemed to get really mad at Stella and then you left without saying a word. You wouldn't even let any of us near Dib. And when I tried to get your attention, you didn't hear me at all. You just...backed up out of the kitchen." she said, knowing something wasn't right about that reaction.

Zim looked at Dib worried. "I-I did...?" he said as though he needed the other to verify that for him.

"Perhaps we should ask Purple about this. Maybe he'll know what's going on with you and why you can't seem to remember anything this morning."

"O-Okay..." Zim nodded and set Dib down gingerly.

Whimpering softly, Dib went to curl up on the couch away from him when Zim set him down.

"Come on. I think he went out to hide in the backyard when Dib started crying earlier." Rose said, deciding not to lead Zim through the kitchen again and instead out through another door to find Purple.

Taking holding of Dib's hand, Zim urged him back onto his feet before he followed closely behind her.

As Rose led them both out to the backyard, Dib couldn't help but shake slightly as they searched around to locate Purple, who currently sat on a small bench, staring up into the sky almost longingly.

Looking up to Purple upon finding him, Zim swallowed nervously. "P-Pur... Can we talk to you?" he asked, breaking the other's concentration.

"Hmm?" Purple seemed to snap out of his little homesick daze before bringing his gaze to land on the three. "Oh...Of course..." he smiled almost sadly at Zim, knowing that the morning had been a fairly confusing one for everybody.

Fidgeting, Zim decided to let Rose ask for him.

Rose sighed. "Purple, Zim seems to be having episodes of amnesia lately. You wouldn't happen to know what might be causing them, would you?" she asked, figuring he'd be the most likely one out of all of them to realize what was going on, given his earlier knowledge about Dib's heat and what had caused it.

"Amnesia? What kind of amnesia? Like...What is he forgetting?" Purple asked, turning in to face them better as he needed more info about the episodes than just that.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 122. =3 Until next time~


	121. Chapter 123

ZADR Orange Chapter 123

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Glancing back at Zim, Rose considered how she should go about explaining Zim's memory lapses to Purple. "Well...For starters, he apparently had a run-in with one of my nieces this morning. Dib and my older niece, Stella, tell me he shoved my younger niece, Kira, off a bed. And Kira confirmed that it happened also. But Zim says he can't remember the encounter. And just now, we were in the kitchen talking with my two nieces. He didn't say anything but just backed out of the kitchen angrily. When I walked back out into the living room to find him again however, he said he didn't even remember going into the kitchen to begin with." she explained the encounters as best she could despite having not been there during the first of the two.

"Ohhh..." Purple sighed. "Was he growling or anything, and blocking anyone from getting close to Dib?" he then asked, already having an idea in mind of what the problem may be from Rose's recounting of said events.

Rose blinked wide eyes up at Purple. "Well, I'm not so sure about the first time since I wasn't there myself, but yes. He did seem to be doing that when we ran into my nieces back in the kitchen. Does this mean you know what's wrong with him then? And possibly a way to fix it?" she asked, hopeful now that they could get to the bottom of this and take some measures to prevent it from happening again in the future.

Smiling slightly, Purple shook his head slowly. "I never would have thought Zim to be the type...Yes, I know what the problem is. The part of his mind that's in connection with his PAK recognizes Stella and Kira as a threat. He'll go directly into defensive mode whenever he sees them and do whatever it takes to keep them away from Dib and his smeets. Kind of a...preservation response to ensure nothing bad happens." he tried to explain to them so they'd better understand why Zim couldn't recall the incidents in question.

"He sees them as a threat? Well, is there anything we can do to make him not see them as a threat? I mean...I can understand him maybe seeing Stella as a threat because of how she was acting last night when she thought Dib was single, but Kira's only six. There's really no reason for him to see her as a threat. She's not after Dib or anything like that."

"Antennas..." Zim's eyes widened. "I remember...something...I think she grabbed my antennas..." he then said, holding his head as he tried to remember more of what had happened despite how foggy his memory still was.

"Your antennas? Does touching them make you go into a defensive mode with whoever it is that touched them?"

"No...But they are sensitive..."

"Okay...So, I guess I can understand you just trying to shove her away when she touched them...But do you still see her as a threat? Because I think she's afraid of you now."

"I don't know...I don't know what happens when they're around. I know she's not a threat though..."

"Well, when I asked her to come over to me back in the kitchen, you seemed pretty tense. You were mainly just glaring at her, but when she got really close, you started growling and that's around the time you left the kitchen with Dib. So unless something was triggering it, you probably shouldn't have been reacting that way."

Sighing, Zim shook his head. "I have no idea...Maybe I should just go home...Uh, P-Pur and I need to call for a med drone anyway, to help Dib." he reminded the other of their plans to get in contact with one.

"But what about the shopping trip? I thought you wanted to finish shopping for the smeets today. That was the whole reason you even agreed to stay over last night."

"Take Dib. He can pick some things out for them himself." Zim smiled. "Then we'll meet up for lunch." he said, thinking some time away from everybody would do him some good and help him to clear his head.

Looking up at Zim with red, puffy eyes, Dib spoke up for the first time in a long while. "B-But..." he began to say before getting cut short by Rose.

"Are you sure about that, Zim? I'm sure Dib would prefer to do the shopping for this with you. Unless you're planning on meeting us at the mall for lunch and then getting some shopping done afterwards with Dib."

Zim nodded. "Yeah, we just need to contact this guy and maybe a little time alone will help to clear my head. Then, after lunch, we can finish shopping." he smiled wide, thinking it a brilliant plan.

Rose smiled back at him. "Alright then, we'll do that. I guess we wouldn't want to put you through another car ride anyways." she said before turning to Dib. "Dib, why don't you come with me to the bathroom where you can get washed up before leaving." she said, offering him her hand.

Hesitating to take her hand, Dib glanced back at Zim unsurely before finally taking it, his antennae drooping as he dropped his gaze to the floor.

Waving as Dib left with Rose, Zim then turned to Purple. "Alright, you sure you can get him here?" he switched his attention over to the task at hand, not wanting to think of everything that had occurred prior to it.

"I should be able to. We have monitors in most every room on the Massive. Sending a transmission through to the medical bay should be simple enough. And this guy is always looking for the more challenging medical cases. I'm sure this will catch his interest."

Zim grinned wide. "Good. Then let's go." he said, gesturing for the other to follow him back into the house so they could head out the front door to the sidewalk.

Purple grinned back at him. "Alright." he headed back inside with Zim, retrieving the hat Zim had given him to wear as a disguise before heading out with him to make their way back to the base. "This shouldn't take me long at all." he then assured the other, certain he could convince the medical drone in question to drop what he was doing and head for Earth.

Following close behind the other, Zim, after they were quite a bit away from Jack's and Rose's house, turned to quietly ask Purple a question. "Is Zim too overbearing?" he asked, figuring Purple would be the most likely candidate to give him an honest answer.

Purple practically choked on a pancake he had swiped from the kitchen before leaving. "What?! I mean...What makes you say that? You're not too overbearing...Err...At least, not towards most people..." his voice fell to a sort of quiet whisper.

"I don't know...With all that's happened...I feel like I'm getting in the way a lot..."

Shaking his head slowly, Purple could only sigh at those words. "Zim, you're not getting in the way. You're looking out for your mate and your smeets. Anybody could understand that." he said in as reassuring a manner as possible.

Zim scuffed at the ground as they walked. "I don't think so..." he said, not as convinced as Purple seemed to be that his behavior lately was normal.

Purple sighed again. "Listen, Zim. You just want what's best for your mate. And you want what's best for your smeets. Any father would want the same. And you're really working hard to provide them with only the best. That's not getting in the way. It's just protecting your family." he said, a part of him wishing his own mate acted in such a way.

Zim's antennas drooped. "...Let's just go..." he said, not wanting to discuss it any further at this point.

Looking back in front of himself, Purple fell silent at Zim's words, not saying anything more until they had almost reached Zim's base. "Do you...regret it...?" he finally asked, glancing back at Zim.

"Regret what?"

"Being so protective of your family..."

"...I don't know...I don't think Dib likes it..."

"Are you sure he's just not used to it? From what I gathered this morning, his family life wasn't that good."

"...Maybe...It makes him feel uncomfortable though...I wish it didn't..."

"Well, maybe you should tell him that. And then ask him what WOULD make him comfortable. Try to be there when he needs you and not so much when he doesn't."

"Yeah..." Zim sighed. "Well, here we are..." he then said once they had reached the walkway leading up to his base.

Purple looked back up as they approached the front door. "Would you prefer I made this call alone? Or would you like to talk to the medic drone we're planning on asking to come?" he then asked, deciding then might be a good time to change the subject.

"I should be there...Make sure I can trust him..." Zim said with an affirmative nod, not wanting to take any chances when it came to Dib's safety despite how he knew the other disliked it.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 123. =3 Until next time~


	122. Chapter 124

ZADR Orange Chapter 124

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Nodding his head when Zim insisted upon speaking with the medic drone himself, Purple glanced back at Zim as he approached to unlock the door before looking back ahead of himself. "Alright then, I'll connect us directly to the medical bay." he said as Zim let them inside and then led him over to the couch, the giant monkey picture sliding up on the wall to reveal a screen. Next to said screen was a keypad for manual settings as well as a port for the use of a PAK. Allowing one of the panels in his own PAK to open up, a long metallic tendril of sorts slinked out to connect to the port. "This should only take a moment." he said as he keyed in the code needed to connect directly with the Massive's medical bay rather than the transmission room that most calls went directly to.

Zim merely sat back as Purple connected.

Meanwhile, on the Massive, shouting could be heard as one drone worked desperately to connect with the Tallest's main quarters. "MY TALLEST!" he shouted into a communicator from the med bay. "We're receiving a transmission from Earth!" he informed Red, who currently had all sectors of the Massive monitoring transmissions in the event Purple eventually called in to inform him of his whereabouts.

"Really? Hmm, answer it. And tell me what's going on!"

Back on Earth, Purple, meanwhile, stood back tapping his foot impatiently, arms crossed in front of his chest. "What is TAKING so long for them to answer?!" he was quickly becoming impatient, having been standing there for a little over a minute now, antennae perking when one of the drones finally picked up.

"My...Tallest?" the drone looked rather surprised to see Purple standing there rather than the one who usually called from Earth.

All the drones in the med bay froze, staring at Purple on the screen.

"My Tallest, why are you on Earth?"

"Just...taking a short vacation here. But listen! I need to speak with the head medic drone. Bring him to me and then leave the room. And do NOT tell anybody else that I called here, especially Red."

"Uhh, yes, my Tallest!" the drone bowed and ran off to get the head medic drone before running to Red's quarters. "My Tallest, I found him!" he was giddy with excitement as Red had offered a large reward to anyone who could locate Purple.

"What?! Where?!"

"He's on Earth, my Tallest!"

"WHAT?! B-But...How?! A-And why?! And-" Red stopped mid-sentence, his eyes growing wide before narrowing. "Zim!" he growled, understanding now why Purple had left the Massive without informing him or anyone else of his destination.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Purple waited until they were all alone with the head medic drone before addressing him about the reason he'd called. "I have a mission for you." he said, knowing the drone wouldn't be able to turn down an official call to duty.

"You do, my Tallest? What is it?"

"Yes. You are familiar with live births, correct?"

"Umm...Yes, my Tallest, I am. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"We'd like you to assist us in a live birth down here on Earth. Three live births, actually. Since you are the only Irken I know of who has ever dealt with such a thing, your cooperation in this mission would be very much appreciated. After all, I've heard from many others in the past before that you're always on the lookout for interesting cases to take on. And I'll be sure you're more than compensated for your services should you agree to partake in this mission."

"Umm...I'm not sure, my Tallest...Tallest Red actually has the entire Armada out looking for you now. I doubt he'd let me leave suddenly."

"R-Really?" Purple's antennae perked before slicking back as he shook his head, reminding himself to keep his mind focused on the task at hand. "Oh! Never mind that for now! I didn't want you to ask for Red's permission in the first place anyways! I was hoping you'd be willing to just grab what you need and sneak out unnoticed. The medical bay runs slow enough as it is. I highly doubt anyone will even notice you're missing, Red especially. He's already got more important things to worry about. What I'm asking you to do is part of a "secret mission." Nobody else is to know about it. And I'll personally see to it that you aren't punished for this in any way should you by any chance get caught." he said, ready to promise the drone anything at this point to get him to come quietly to Earth.

Saluting to Purple over the transmission, the drone bowed to his Tallest. "Yes, my Tallest! I'll be there as soon as possible. Can you send me the exact coordinates?" he asked, not wanting to take any more chances than he already was just by accepting this mission.

"Yes, alright." Purple nodded his head before going to type in the coordinates on the keypad next to the screen, glancing back at Zim momentarily. "And you're alright with this, Zim? He seems trustworthy enough to you?" he then asked before sending the coordinates to the medic drone, just wanting to make sure Zim was still alright with this himself.

Stepping in front of the screen suddenly and making the drone jump at seeing him, Zim glared at the drone for a moment before sighing. "Fine. I SUPPOSE I could trust him...But he's not getting anywhere near my Dib unless I'm around." he pouted and crossed his arms.

"I don't think you'll have to worry too much about that, Zim. The only time he'll really need to be near him is when he's giving birth."

Zim nodded. "Good." he said before turning to the drone. "Well then, get down here already!" he practically demanded, even more impatient than Purple was.

"Eh...O-Okay..."

Pressing the enter button, Purple proceeded to send the drone the coordinates. "How long do you think it will take you to get down here?" he asked, wanting an estimate of the other's arrival time on Earth.

"Umm...A few days at most, my Tallest. Perhaps even less if all goes well and I don't run into any problems along the way."

Purple turned back to Zim. "Well then, I guess there's no point in waiting around here, Zim. It will take him at least a day to get here, if not more. So I guess we can go ahead and meet the others at that Earth shopping structure Rose was telling me about last night." he said before turning back to the screen. "You're still there? Hurry up and get your things packed! You already know what your mission is!" he then snapped, pointing at the screen, more than a little irritated he was wasting precious time.

"Y-Yes, my Tallest!"

Rolling his eyes, Purple then cut the transmission.

Sighing, Zim, meanwhile, just shook his head. "This will be interesting..." he said before heading for the attic. "Come on. We'll take the voot. It'll be much easier than getting a ride in one of those terrible earth vehicles." he gestured for the other to follow him, shuddering at the thought of his last encounter with one of said vehicles.

Purple followed him up to the attic. "But are you going to be able to find somewhere hidden away to land it when we get there?" he asked as Zim climbed into the driver's seat, Purple having to struggle a bit to squeeze in next to him, not quite used to traveling in such a small ship, at least for him.

"It won't be hard. Humans in general are morons."

"Well...Alright then."

Meanwhile, at the mall, Dib stood among a large selection of baby clothes, unenthusiastically looking through them, glancing at the entrance every few seconds as though expecting Zim to walk in any minute now. He had arrived at the mall with Rose, Lily, and the two girls about 45 minutes ago and had been wandering through the baby clothes section ever since. Jack and Lily's husband were coming later with Blaze to meet them for lunch since there hadn't been enough room in Jack's and Rose's car to fit everybody in. Not to mention, Jack and Lily's husband were hoping to avoid as much shopping as possible. So while Rose and Lily were off looking through clothes for Rose's baby, Dib stood virtually alone among the many aisles of clothing, Stella running about the store with Kira riding in one of the strollers until their mother and aunt were done.

Knowing Dib would be brooding until he arrived, Zim flew as quickly as he could to the mall.

After a few more minutes had passed, Rose finally approached Dib. "Dib? Zim should probably be arriving soon with Purple, so we're going to head on down to the food court to wait for them now, alright? If you want though, we can come back after lunch so you and Zim can continue shopping for whatever you need." she said, knowing the hybrid hadn't shown any interest in shopping alone, despite how she had tried to convince him into joining her and her sister.

Snapping out of his slight daze to look up as her, Dib nodded, having not said a word since Zim had left him at the house.

Landing the voot in some bushes near the back of the mall where not many people went, Zim then climbed out with Purple. "This should be good, Pur. Let's go. The others are probably waiting for us." he said, wanting nothing more than to hurry along back to Dib so the other wouldn't feel as though he'd abandoned him at Jack's and Rose's house.

Purple just nodded his head. "Alright." he climbed out behind him, following Zim to a back entrance of the mall.

Back inside, Dib waited patiently outside the store as Lily and Rose rounded up the two girls, sending the game shop across from him a few glances, wondering whether Gaz was working today or not.

"Hi, love~" Zim sneaked up behind Dib and grabbed him around the chest.

Jumping slightly at so suddenly being grabbed from behind, Dib whirled around quickly, slightly startled, before pressing himself tightly against Zim, clinging to him and hiding his face in the other's chest, his antennae twitching.

Smiling, Zim held him close and swayed a little. "I told you I'd be back for lunch." he said, having kept his promise to hurry on over as soon as he was done calling the medical drone.

Not wanting to pull away, Dib could only nuzzle his face more into Zim's chest.

Rose exited the store with Lily and the girls. "Oh, Zim. Purple. You're here already." she smiled. "We were just about to head to the food court to grab some lunch." she said, gesturing for them to follow her. "So, how did things go?" she then asked, wanting to know whether they had been able to contact the medic drone or not.

"It went pretty well, all things considered. He should be out here in a day or so."

"Well, that's great!" Rose smiled wide.

Still not all too happy about having to deal with an Irken doctor in the room during a time when he'd rather have nobody in the room, Dib couldn't help but shudder against Zim at the current conversation.

"Well, are we all ready for lunch then?"

"I think we are." Zim pat Dib's back carefully.

"Alright, good. My brother-in-law and Jack should be joining us at the food court soon."

Nodding his head, Zim nuzzled Dib affectionately, trying to convince him to unbury himself and walk with them to the food court.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 124. =3 Until next time~


	123. Chapter 125

ZADR Orange Chapter 125

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Walking just a few feet in front of everybody else all the while, Stella turned to walk backwards in front of Rose as they came up upon the mall food court area. "Aunt Rose, do you think we could head to the game shop after lunch? Pleeeeaaaasssseeee!" she begged.

"Well...Maybe Jack will be willing to take you. But you have to behave yourselves." Rose warned.

A big smile coming to her face, Stella's eyes lit up at that answer. "Okay!" she agreed before turning back around and running on ahead again.

Walking close to Zim behind them, Dib, meanwhile, tried to keep his distance from Stella, afraid Zim might react again if he got too close to ANYBODY at this point.

Doing his best to stay on his best behavior, Zim couldn't deny the feeling of anger building whenever Stella came into view.

Dropping back to walk near Zim after a few moments, Rose then leaned in to whisper something to him. "Zim...Has Dib spoken to you since you arrived here? Because he hasn't said a word so far as I know since you left the house. I'm starting to worry about him. I mean, perhaps it's just because of the day he's been having, but I'm really not so sure." she said, glancing at Dib concerned for a moment.

Zim drooped. "No...He hasn't said a word..." he said, finding that awfully strange himself now.

Rose glanced over at Dib, who was silently walking next to Zim, clinging to his arm as though the other would disappear were he to let go. "I really hope he's okay...It just doesn't seem like him to not say anything at all. I mean, if something was bothering him, he would just come out and say it, right?" she said, having never known Dib to really bottle things up completely like this.

"...Normally..." Zim leaned over and kissed Dib. "Dib, tell Zim what's wrong." he tried to coax the other into telling him why he was being so quiet all of a sudden.

"Mmm..." Dib let out a small whine at the kiss, shaking his head before returning his face to Zim's chest as they walked, antennae twitching some more.

Zim sighed at getting no reply. "Was Zim bad?" he then asked, thinking he had down something wrong to upset the other now.

Slowly shaking his head again after a few moments, Dib's face remained hidden in Zim's uniform top.

"...Then why are you so quiet?"

Lifting his head up slightly to glance at Zim, Dib then returned his face to Zim's shirt, just shaking his head again, not wanting talk about it.

Zim sighed. "Please tell me, Dib..." he pleaded with the other to tell him what was wrong so he could try to fix it somehow.

Shaking his head more firmly, Dib could only cling tighter to Zim.

"Nothing bad will happen if you just talk to me, Dib..."

His antennae drooping at all Zim's continued prying, Dib still didn't respond, just wanting to be left alone.

Knowing he must have done something wrong, Zim sighed again and held Dib close as they continued walking

.

Upon reaching the heart of the food court, Rose looked back at them. "Well, we're here. Zim, do you and Dib want to find us a free table while I go ahead and grab some food? I'll get you whatever you'd like if you just tell me." she said, gesturing to all the available choices, certain there must be at least something the other could eat here.

Lifting his head at the mention of food, Dib looked around at all the food stands before seeing one that caught his eye: a hot dog stand.

Zim followed his gaze to said stand. "I guess Dib wants a hotdog." he said before nuzzling the boy again. "Want to pick a seat?" he then asked the hybrid, not really feeling hungry himself.

Looking back at Zim after a moment, Dib then shifted his gaze to look about the place, knowing they'd need an area with more than one table empty considering how many people they were eating with. After a minute or so, he then managed to locate a small area in the corner with a few empty tables.

Before Dib could lead Zim over to it, however, Rose crouched down a bit to ask Zim what he'd like. "Zim, would you like anything? They have plenty of choices around here. I know you won't eat meat, but I could get you nachos or something." she smiled at him.

Shrugging, Zim eyed Dib again. "Actually, I'm not feeling very hungry..." he said, really just not wanting to risk the mall food as most such places served only foods he couldn't stand.

Rose's face fell a bit at that response. "Oh, are you sure? You didn't exactly get to have breakfast this morning, and you hardly ate anything at dinner last night." she reminded him as Dib clung to his arm all the while, looking about the place and only stopping to blush when he suddenly heard his own stomach growl also.

"It's okay. Irkens don't have to eat much. Especially short ones..."

"Oh, Zim...You really aren't that short. You're around the same height as a 16-year-old human. And they're not all THAT short. How about I get you a small something, and if you really don't feel like eating it, Dib can have it. He's eating for more than just himself, after all."

Agreeing to that, Zim nodded at the suggestion. "Okay..." he said with very little enthusiasm, figuring that the extra food would at least benefit Dib and the smeets in the long run if not himself.

Rose smiled again. "Well, I'll be back shortly." she said before leaving to get them some food.

Tugging at Zim's arm meanwhile, Dib tried to hurry the other along so they could get the tables before somebody else claimed them.

Zim laughed lightly. "I'm coming, I'm coming." he smiled and held Dib close as they got to the tables.

Sighing out in some relief when they were able to secure the tables, Dib pulled Zim into the seat next to his own before smiling and nuzzling one of his cheeks to the other's hand gently.

Zim smiled back. "Well...You won't talk to me...But you're certainly more affectionate than ever before..." he said before kissing Dib lightly. "I'm not sure if I like it or not." he then whispered to the hybrid in a playful manner.

Merely blinking at the other's words, Dib then leaned in to give his cheek a small lick.

Blushing, Zim nuzzled Dib back, nipping at his neck.

Dib gasped slightly at the small love bite. "Mmmm...Ziiiim..." he groaned out the other's name as he hid his face in the crook of Zim's neck, breathing warm, moist air against his skin.

Zim smiled at hearing Dib's voice. "So you can still talk then~" he nuzzled the other and licked his antennas.

"Ah!" Dib instinctively squirmed about in his seat, his eyelids slipping closed as the sensation of Zim's wet tongue sliding along the length of his antennae caused him to arch his back slightly, his breathing growing labored as his face became rather flushed.

Purring, Zim wrapped his arms around Dib and pulled him in close.

Reaching down to take hold of one of Zim's hands, Dib then brought it up to his mouth to suck on one of his fingers.

Blushing deeply, Zim moaned a little. "Diiib~" he said before glancing around and noticing they were starting to get looks. "When we get home..." he then whispered into the hybrid's antennae, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention their way.

Reluctantly releasing Zim's finger from his mouth, Dib panted heavily as Zim pulled away, his body on fire again and antennae twitching.

Sitting back and looking around, Zim then saw Stella and Kira heading for the table along with their father, who had just arrived there with Jack. Narrowing his eyes as his anger began to build again, he then clung to Dib, holding him close and almost pulling him into his lap.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 125. =3 Until next time~


	124. Chapter 126

ZADR Orange Chapter 126

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Blinking when he felt Zim pulling him in close, Dib tilted his head back to glance up at the Irken before poking out his tongue to lick his bottom lip as though to reassure the other that nothing bad would happen if he just left them alone.

Glancing away from them a little and purring slightly as Dib filled his line of vision, Zim nuzzled the boy and closed his eyes.

Smiling again and pressing himself close to Zim, Dib rested comfortably against his chest until Rose returned carrying a tray of food.

"Zim. Dib. I brought you your food." Rose smiled as she set down the hot dog in front of Dib and a container of nachos in front of Zim before taking a seat across from them herself. "Oh, and I wasn't sure what to get you so far as drinks were concerned, so I just purchased a medium-sized lemonade from the place I got Dib's hot dog. I hope you two don't mind sharing." she said, placing two straws down in front of them.

"Mmm Hmm..." Zim mumbled as his only notion that he'd heard her as he stayed closely absorbed in Dib all the while.

Looking over at Rose before smiling, Dib happily took up his hot dog to eat, the smeets inside him kicking for food.

Rose smiled back at him. "So, are you two ready for some more shopping after lunch?" she asked, pulling up her own food once she had passed Zim and Dib their own.

Zim glanced at Dib. "Are you?" he asked, only up for shopping if Dib was up for it himself.

Mouth full, Dib merely nodded his head before swallowing and reaching over to take a sip from the cup of lemonade Rose had brought them.

Rose started digging into her own food. "So, what else are we looking for here? We can shop for more clothes if you want. Or we can look through cribs." she suggested, trying to think of what else Zim and Dib needed, given the limited amount of items they'd bought the other day.

Shrugging, Zim then laughed a little. "Maybe we could find one shaped like a space ship." he nudged Dib a little.

Rose laughed a bit herself. "Well, have you given any thought as to where they'll be sleeping? I mean, are you planning on setting somewhere for them to sleep in your room? Or were you going to have another room set up for them? And will they all be sleeping together or apart in different cribs?" she asked, trying to help them figure out the details of their arrangements.

"Uhh...Probably together...I don't think they'd enjoy being pulled apart after being together for so long...As for where...I guess until we add a room, they should sleep in ours...It'd be easier to take care of them at least."

"Alright then, we'll shop for one extra-large crib to hold all three of them. And how about other supplies? Do you already have an idea for how and what you'll be feeding them? I mean, so far as I can tell, Dib can't exactly...Well...By human standards, he can't nurse them unless you Irkens have some other way of nursing your young different from how humans do so."

"Nurse? Uhh...No...They come from eggs...They get mushy food straight off..."

"And you're sure they'll be able to eat it when they're first born? Technically, Dib's not laying eggs. Perhaps you should have a formula ready just in case."

"Okay...What's a formula?"

"Well...You know...It's like a bottle of milk, except different. It's something you give new born babies when their mothers can't nurse them for some reason."

"Oh..." Zim pretended to get it despite still not entirely understanding.

Rose could see the still confused look on his face. "It's a supplement, Zim. It provides babies with the nutrients necessary for their growth. Does that make more sense?" she asked, trying to simplify her definition some for him.

"Ah, yes, very much so." Zim grinned and nodded.

"I think it would be a good idea to have one ready for them since they probably won't be getting their nutrients from Dib after they're born."

Zim nodded. "Yeah, we'll need that..." he agreed, not wanting to take any chances in the event they really weren't ready for soft foods upon being born.

"Alright then, that means we'll need to buy them bottles too."

"Color coded, of course. Don't want them sharing."

"Of course! Lord knows, the second one of them comes down with a cold or something, they'll all come down with it. Better not to have them sharing one bottle. Any particular colors you want for them? Perhaps something that matches their eyes? I mean, I know we won't know what color their eyes are until after they're born, but I'd say it's a pretty safe bet they'll be close to your own. Either yours or Dib's, that is."

Zim nodded. "Perhaps a pink and a purple and an orangey-yellow one." he suggested, deciding to stick with the two most common Irken eye colors and one that matched Dib's own eyes.

Rose smiled. "I bet you can't wait to see what they'll look like...I mean, I'm sure they'll look like you and Dib, but still. It's just kind of fun to imagine how they'll turn out." she said, having day-dreamed many times about what her own baby would look like.

Zim blushed. "Well...I don't know..." he nuzzled Dib. "I can't seem to picture them..." he admitted, having not been able to give it nearly as much thought as he originally figured he would. To him, the whole thing still felt so surreal, almost like a dream he'd wake up from any moment now.

"Well, I guess it can be kind of hard to imagine when you don't have a concept of what gender they'll be yet. But have you tried imagining them looking like one of you two, only as babies? Children a lot of the time tend to look like how their parents looked when they were children themselves."

"I hope they don't act like us as smeets..."

"Oh, Zim, stop putting yourself down so much. Your smeets are going to turn out just fine. You're both going to be wonderful parents and do a great job raising them. And you'll always have Jack and I to support you two."

Nuzzling Dib, Zim avoided eye contact with Rose. "Yeah..." he said though didn't feel quite as convinced of that himself.

Blinking at Zim momentarily, Dib leaned in to nuzzle him back affectionately, closing his eyes and getting comfortable as he continued to lazily suck on the lemonade Rose had brought them before offering it to Zim for a drink, all the while bringing one of Zim's free hands down to press firmly against the side of his belly where one of the smeets was shifting.

Smiling at him, Zim rubbed the side of his belly gently, refusing the drink, content to just sit there.

Pulling back the lemonade when Zim refused it, Dib then glanced over at the still untouched nachos, sneakily reaching out a hand to steal one before pulling back to snack on his prize happily.

Grinning, Zim laughed a little at Dib.

Smiling also, Rose returned to her food. "So, let's see...So far we've decided your smeets need a stroller, clothes, a crib, bottles...Oh! And what about a changing table?" she said, not knowing any expecting couple that could possibly do without one.

"Ugh." Zim made an ick face. "Do they have to?" he practically whined, shuddering at the prospect of the messes they'd have to clean.

"Oh, come on now. It's not going to be that bad. They're just babies after all."

Zim sighed. "Maybe they'll be more Irken and make less mess." he then said, really hoping that was the case as most Irkens weren't trained in how to care for their own young, the use of Irken PAKs having eliminated the necessity for such primal care techniques.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 126. =3 Until next time~


	125. Chapter 127

ZADR Orange Chapter 127

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Shaking her head at Zim's rather predictable response, Rose could only sigh a bit as she wished she could get the other to not let the negatives outweigh the positives so often in life. "Really, Zim, it's just one of those things you have to get used to when you become a parent, at least for the first year or so of their lives. But I can guarantee you that you won't even be thinking about that when they finally get here. You'll just take one look at them and be so happy knowing they're yours, yours AND Dib's. Changing them will be the farthest thought on your mind when they're born." she tried to assure him of this, not wanting him to ruin the experience for himself or for Dib.

"Mmm, but it'll be the first thought on my mind when they wake us up in the middle of the night..."

"Well...Only if that's the reason they're waking you up for. You have to remember they could have a multitude of reasons for waking you up in the middle of the night. They could be sick or perhaps hungry or even just restless. So you can't blame it on just that. But that's where the formula comes in. Give them some right before bed and they'll more than likely fall right off to sleep at night."

Nodding his head at that bit of information and storing it away in his PAK for later use, Zim then scooted the plate of nachos closer to Dib.

Glancing up at Zim momentarily, Dib slowly reached out to take another nacho.

Smiling, Zim nodded. "You can have them." he insisted the other finish them for him, having not even touched them since the time Rose brought them to him.

Smiling back, Dib took the whole thing now to finish them off.

Finishing her own food, Rose then stood up to return her tray. "Are you two almost ready to get back to shopping? I don't think Dib wanted to pick anything new out until you got here, Zim." she said, having been able to tell just by Dib's body language how uncomfortable he had felt shopping alone.

Zim nodded. "Once he's done with the nachos." he said, not wanting the rush Dib as they still had all day to get the shopping in question done.

Quickly working to finish them off, Dib coughed a bit as he went to swallow the last big handful of chips.

Zim laughed. "You didn't have to rush." he said as he reached forward to wipe away a few leftover crumbs on Dib's face.

Reaching out to take the cup of lemonade again and take a large drink from it as he tried to swallow down the very last of it, Dib could only shake his head at that.

Not having let go of him the whole time, Zim nuzzled him.

"About ready to go?"

Lifting his gaze up to look at Rose, Dib smiled and nodded.

Missing Dib's constant talking, Zim sighed but stood up with him anyway, keeping him close all the while.

Nuzzling himself comfortably against Zim as they got up from their seats, Dib yawned tiredly.

Stroking his hair and antennas, Zim led Dib around the table to meet Rose before heading on to the store.

Lifting his head back up after a moment, Dib then looked around curiously.

Zim smiled at him. "Feeling better?" he asked, at least happy to see Dib's spirits had lifted significantly since earlier that morning.

Bringing his gaze back to Zim, Dib blinked confusedly at him. "...Where'd your leader go...?" he asked, just then seeming to notice that Purple wasn't with them any longer and hadn't been all throughout lunch.

"Huh?" Zim looked around, just now noticing also. "Oh...I don't know..." he said, having thought Purple had gone off with Rose when she went to go pick up food.

"He was with me when I went to get the food. But I think he might be with Jack now. He mentioned something about wanting to try more Earth foods while he was down here." Rose shrugged. "But anyways, I'm sure he's fine." she reassured them of that, fairly certain Purple wouldn't just wander off on his own without sticking with at least somebody he recognized from their party.

"But didn't he want to come shopping with us?"

"Well...He did sound pretty excited about it last night...I suppose we could find them and ask him if he wants to come along. He and Jack probably took the girls to the game shop."

"Okay, we can get him then..." Zim nodded and looked at Dib. "If it's okay with you..." he then added in at the end, not wanting to do anything that would make Dib feel too uncomfortable.

Not really caring either way, Dib nodded in agreement also.

"Alright then!" Rose clapped her hands together. "Let's head on over to the game shop then and look for them there. Even if they aren't there, I'm sure Stella will convince them to bring her and Kira over there eventually. I don't think Purple would wander off on his own, so he'll more than likely follow them." she said as they headed out of the food court and back towards both the game shop and baby store that sat opposite it.

A bit nervous about running into either Gaz or Tak, Zim nodded.

Noticing Zim tense up slightly, Dib squeezed his hand reassuringly, knowing that so long as Zim's leader was there, nothing bad would happen to him.

Leading them back to the game shop across from the store they were going to be shopping in, Rose entered the store with the two trailing behind her before looking around, the place not all that big to scan over. "Hmm...I don't see them in here...Let's just wait a few minutes and see if they show up." she said, just knowing Stella would continue to harass Jack about it until he finally gave in and brought her and her sister over to look through the games.

Pulling away from Zim a bit to have a look around for himself, Dib didn't see his sister anywhere in sight and sighed, his antennae drooping a bit before curiously looking over at where a crowd of customers had gathered around what looked to be one person playing a game.

Zim noticed the crowd soon after Dib. "You think that's her?" he asked, already able to read Dib's mind given the same thoughts were running through his own.

Continuing to stare for a few moments longer, Dib then shook his head. "N-No...She's working here now...I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be allowed. Th-Though I wouldn't be surprised if it were you know who." he then scowled a bit, antennae falling back. "B-But then again...If that were the case, then where's Gaz?" he looked around again, almost convincing himself that it wasn't Tak drawing in such a crowd.

Not wanting to even think about Tak, Zim held Dib closer when a familiar voice could be heard shouting over the praise of the crowd.

"YES! High Score!"

"Wow. She's good. She might even be better than that Gaz girl who works here." one of the random bystanders said to one of his friends.

Antennae perking at the mention of his sister, Dib's antennae then fell back at the sound of Tak's voice.

Rose tapped Zim on the shoulder. "Hey. Isn't that Dib's sister's girlfriend?" she asked in a whisper so as not to catch Dib's attention.

"Unfortunately..." Zim said, still glaring in Tak's direction.

"She's not her girlfriend!" Dib yelled, turning on them and glaring, having heard every word they were saying, causing his antennae to press back as far against his head as possible.

Looking at Dib sadly, Zim nuzzled him. "Dib?" he said cautiously, able to sense how on edge the other already was.

"What?!" Dib asked irritably.

"I-I just wanted to make sure you were okay..."

"No, Zim...I'm not...I'm not okay...Gaz is my sister. How can you expect me to be okay when she's with TAK of all people...? Tak, who came here to kill you!"

"Well...We used to try and kill each other...And she's not trying to kill me anymore..."

His antennae drooping, Dib could only sigh at that. "...Only because your leader told her not to and we're having smeets...But I still can't trust her...She's...taking Gaz away from me...I'm losing my last living relative to her..." he said, hating the fact that Tak had so easily been able to manipulate Gaz into trusting her.

"No you're not, Dib..." Zim touched Dib's belly gently. "You have three new ones on the way..." he reminded him, not wanting Dib's past to interfere with the future they were getting ready to make.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 127. =3 Until next time~


	126. Chapter 128

ZADR Orange Chapter 128

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Bringing his own hand down to his belly at Zim's words, Dib felt where one of the smeets was kicking inside of him. "...If we all survive..." he whispered, sounding somewhat doubtful, which brought him back to his original reason for having wanted to see Gaz that day, his antennae drooping even more at the thought.

"What do you mean? O-Of course we're going to survive." Zim laughed uneasily.

"But what if something happens to me or the smeets while I'm giving birth to them? Life can end so quickly sometimes...I could die without ever getting to see my sister again...Just like our mom died..."

Freezing at those words, Zim then wrapped his arms around Dib to pull him in close. "D-Don't say that, Dib...I'd never let you die..." his voice shook with some emotion at the thought.

"But what if there are complications?! I...I would want you to save them before you tried to save me...A-And if something DID happen to me, it wouldn't be fair to leave them with only you...I could never ask Jack and Rose to take on so much responsibility all at once, and I couldn't just dump it all on you either...I want Gaz to be in their lives if something happens to me. She's my last living relative, and they may be her last link to me if anything bad happens..." Dib sent Zim an almost pleading look now.

Zim's eyes watered up at that. "Don't say that..." he looked away and held Dib close. "Please..." he then begged the other to stop, not wanting to hear any more about it.

Dib's antennae could only droop at the hurt look on Zim's face. He didn't want to put doubt into the other's mind, but at the same time, he didn't want to wait until the last second to think about the possibility of such a thing happening. "...I'm sorry..." he looked away also. "I want to be ready though..." he breathed in shakily.

"I...I understand...I just don't like thinking about it, I suppose..."

"...I'm sorry..." Dib apologized again. "I just don't want them to ever be left like Gaz and I were left...I want them to be taken care of by people who love them and not by someone as neglectful as our dad was...I want them to be happy and smile a lot and not miss me as much as I've missed my mom ever since she left us..." he said, the memory of how painful it'd been to lose her weighing heavily on his mind still.

Feeling a bit hurt that he was once again being compared to Dib's father, Zim looked away but let it go otherwise. "I won't let that happen to them, Dib...And...If anything ever happened to me...I'd want you to do the same thing..." he said, wanting nothing more than for his family to be taken care of in his own absence were such a thing to ever happen.

Dib couldn't help but notice the change in Zim's facial expression at the mention of his father. "Oh...Oh no, Zim...I didn't mean it like that..." his antennae fell back as he sent Zim an apologetic look. "I didn't mean for it to sound like I was comparing you to my dad...Because you wouldn't be neglectful...I know you wouldn't...And I would do my best not to let myself be either if anything ever happened to you...But that's why I want Gaz in their lives too...Because I DON'T know how I would react to ever losing you..." he said as he brought his arms up to hug himself.

Sighing at those words, Zim kissed him deeply. "I know..." he said, knowing already that Dib hadn't meant it in the way it had initially sounded.

Finding Zim's chest when the other pulled him in close, Dib buried his face in it. "...It just about killed me losing my mom, Zim...I don't know if I could survive going through something like that again if I lost you..." he said, closing his eyes and trembling slightly against the other.

Zim held him tightly. "It's okay, Dib..." he ran his hands up and down Dib's back in an attempt to soothe him.

Breaking down a little bit in Zim's arms, Dib clung to his front tightly.

"Come on. Let's just get some shopping done then go home and get some rest, okay?"

Having sneaked up behind them, Tak, meanwhile, stood back with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. "Oh yes, I agree. And do so before you flood this place with your tears." she spoke up before Dib could respond, causing both Zim and Dib to jump in some surprise. Pulling away from Zim, Dib then lunged at her angrily, pushing her up against one of the walls of games in the store.

"Where is she?!" Dib demanded, glaring down at her with tears still in his eyes.

"WHA-! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" Tak shouted back at him, trying to shove him off of her.

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT THE HELL I'M TALKING ABOUT! WHERE IS GAZ?! TELL ME NOW!" Dib clung to the front of her shirt, shaking her roughly back and forth against the wall.

Having heard the yelling from across the store, Rose quickly made her way over to where Tak and Dib were. "Dib! Dib, let her go..." she tried to coax him off of her.

"SHE'S ON A BATHROOM BREAK, YOU IDIOT!" Tak yelled, doing her best not to get too dizzy from all the shaking.

Breathing heavily now and eyes wild as his hands continued to shake, Dib finally stopped shaking her, Rose managing to pull him away after a moment.

Tak glared. "Good Lord, you're insane, aren't you?!" she said between pants as she tried to regain her initial composure.

"SHUT UP!" Dib continued to glare at her. "I know what you're trying to do! YOU'RE TRYING TO GET HER INTO BED WITH YOU, AREN'T YOU?!" his antennae fell back to press against his head at the thought.

Tak scoffed. "You're just SOOO interested in that, AREN'T you?!" she said sarcastically, not about to tell him anything about their personal life.

"Keep away from my sister!" Dib screamed, stumbling back unsteadily against Rose a bit, the tears coming even more now. He didn't want her to take Gaz away from him, to take the last person in his family that he cared about away from him.

Glaring at him, Tak growled, suddenly wanting to tear him apart. "You ASS! I'M NOT LEAVING HER ALONE, GOT IT?! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF I SAID YOU COULDN'T BE WITH ZIM ANY MORE, HUH?!" she exclaimed, her blood absolutely boiling at this point.

"ZIM'S NOT OUT TO KILL YOU LIKE YOU WERE TO KILL HIM!" Dib screamed back. "Zim's been in my life for five years! You barely know my sister! AND you've tried to take over Earth in the past!" he began to list off all the reasons he didn't like her being with his sister.

"SO HAS ZIM! AND WHAT DOES IT MATTER HOW LONG I'VE BEEN HERE?! IT'S BEEN -MONTHS- THAT WE'VE BEEN LIVING TOGETHER! I BET WE KNOW MORE ABOUT EACH OTHER THAN EVEN YOU AND ZIM DO!"

"AND I'LL BET YOU DON'T! I'VE TOLD ZIM THINGS ABOUT OUR PAST THAT I KNOW GAZ WOULD -NEVER- TALK ABOUT WITH -ANYONE- ELSE! AND HE'S TOLD ME PLENTY OF THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM IN THE PAST BEFORE HE EVER EVEN CAME TO EARTH!"

"WELL IT'S NOT LIKE YOU TWO REALLY SHOW IT! ALWAYS FIGHTING AND AT EACH OTHERS' THROATS! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'VE DONE!"

"WELL, AT LEAST ZIM AND I ARE ACTUALLY BASING OUR RELATIONSHIP OFF OF SOMETHING MEANINGFUL, UNLIKE YOU! YOU'RE JUST BASING YOURS OFF SOME STUPID BET THAT MY SISTER HAPPENED TO LOSE! HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M SUPPOSED TO FEEL ABOUT HAVING TO WATCH YOU TWO BASE IT OFF OF SOMETHING AS STUPID AS THAT?! I MEAN, DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT MY SISTER IN THE SLIGHTEST?! SHE'S BEEN THROUGH JUST AS MUCH SHIT IN LIFE AS I'VE BEEN THROUGH AND THE LAST THING I WANT IS TO SEE HER GETTING HURT BY YOU IN THE END!"

"SHE'S NOT GOING TO GET HURT, DIB! THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD POSSIBLY GET HURT FROM THIS RELATIONSHIP IS ME! IT'S NOT BASED OFF OF A BET TO ME! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, I'M PREGNANT!"

Opening his mouth to continue arguing back, Dib then stopped himself short at those words, his eyes growing wide. "You're...You're..." he glanced back at Zim almost desperately, his body beginning to shake now.

Eyes widening, Zim rushed forward to grab Dib before he could collapse.

Unable to say any more than that one word over and over again as he stared wide-eyed at Tak, Dib felt his legs giving out from beneath him as Zim scooped him up to hold close. "You're...You're...You're..." he couldn't seem to get past her words enough to say them out loud.

"You're pregnant?!" Gaz exclaimed from behind Tak, having walked back into the store during that last part of the conversation.

Freezing, Tak's eyes grew wide at the sound of Gaz's voice. "Uhh..." she turned to Gaz slowly. "Hi, Gaz..." she said in a rather uncharacteristically sheepish voice, having not told the human yet the news about her pregnancy.

"What do you mean you're pregnant?! Since when?! And how?!" Gaz demanded, not many things in life able to throw her off guard as much as this news undoubtedly had.

Looking down at her feet, Tak shifted about on them uneasily. "Umm...A little over a month ago...And...I took your DNA while you were sleeping and used my lab..." she explained, though not with nearly as much enthusiasm as she had been planning on telling Gaz the news with.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 128. =3 Until next time~


	127. Chapter 129

ZADR Orange Chapter 129

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

A part of her perfectly floored by the news, Gaz could only stare at Tak incredulously as never before had the two of them discussed doing any such thing, let alone even gone that far in their relationship together to begin with. "You what?! And you couldn't have even informed me of this little plan of yours first before doing it?! Were you even planning on telling me this, or were you just going to hide it from me forever?!" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest as she was anything but amused by the entire situation.

"Well, I was going to tell you! But...I wanted to wait until it was too late to get rid of it..."

The lower eyelid of one of her eyes twitching, Gaz leered over at Tak. "You know, Tak. I thought you were smarter than this. But using that as an excuse not to tell me was just as stupid as what Zim did to Dib. Maybe if you had actually trusted me enough to tell me what you were planning on doing, I wouldn't have gotten as pissed as I am right now!" she practically scolded the female Irken, in no way accepting that as an excuse for Tak's actions.

Not sure what to say, Tak looked away, not speaking.

After a few more moments of silence had passed, Gaz then finally sighed. "I guess there's not much I can do about it at this point though...It's your own damn body. I have no control over whether you decide to go through with this or not. But just know, you're going to sit down with me later tonight and fill me in on exactly what the fuck was going through your mind when you decided to take my DNA and impregnate yourself." she narrowed her eyes all too seriously on the Irken.

Tak nodded quickly. "Yes, Gaz." she agreed, not wanting to argue about it or give Gaz anymore reasons to be angry with her.

Gaz then turned on Zim and Dib. "And as for you two, what the hell was it that you wanted?! Did you just come in here to argue with my girlfriend, or did you actually HAVE another reason for coming in here and disturbing the peace?!" she snapped at them, a rather unimpressed look on her face.

"Uhh...We were-"

"We were looking for Zim's leader, and my nieces and their father."

Looking up at Rose, Gaz then turned her attention back on Zim. "You mean to say you actually brought your leader back here to go shopping with you? In case you couldn't tell, Tak was only kidding when she told you to bring him." she rolled her eyes.

"Well, he wanted to come. He thought it would be fun helping to shop for some things for the smeets."

"And now you've lost him, haven't you?" Tak rolled her own eyes, gaining just a bit of her attitude back now.

"Well, no, not exactly. I know he's with my husband, and now we're just waiting for them here because they were going to bring my nieces over here to buy a new game. I know they'll be along shortly."

His ultimate reason for going in there ruined by the fact that Tak was pregnant now, Dib, meanwhile, was on the verge of tears. As much as he hated her, he knew he couldn't ask Gaz to help take care of the smeets if she was going to have her own to deal with soon enough.

Understanding his troubles, Zim cuddled him close. "It's okay, love. Shhh~ I won't let anything happen to you. You'll be okay. The smeets will too. No one will harm them." he did everything he could to try and calm Dib so he wouldn't break down again.

Returning his face to Zim's chest and letting out a wet sob, Dib shook his head and let his antennae droop. He had really wanted this plan to work just in case, but now everything just seemed to be crumbling all around him.

Holding him close and closing his eyes, Zim took a seat while keeping Dib in his lap.

Feeling as though his sister really had been ripped from his life suddenly, Dib broke down completely in Zim's arms.

Rubbing Dib's back gently, Zim rocked him a little in his lap. "It's okay, Dib. Shhhh. Zim is here." he continued trying to soothe him despite how nothing he said seemed to be working in that moment.

Kneeling down near them, Rose ran a hand gently through Dib's hair. "Is he going to be alright?" she asked, this being the most upset she'd seen Dib all day.

Zim merely shook his head. "I don't know..." he admitted, knowing how heavily Dib had had his heart set on asking Gaz to help them with the smeets.

"She took her away!" Dib cried, obviously upset about Tak and the whole pregnancy thing now.

"Dib..." Zim hugged him tighter. "Gaz hasn't left you..." he tried to reassure the other of that despite how things looked currently.

"Yes she has! She's left me for stupid Tak now and doesn't want anything to do with me anymore!" Dib hid his face in his hands.

"Nooo, she's your sister, Dib...The smeets are her nieces and nephews. Of course she cares."

"You know he's right, Dib. Your sister could never stop caring about you or your smeets."

Smiling, Zim kissed him gently.

Still feeling like Gaz had left him for good and they were wrong, Dib didn't respond as he merely continued to sniffle wetly.

Zim sighed. "Come on, Dib. Rose can wait for Purple. Let's go look through the baby stuff, okay?" he wanted to finish the shopping up as quickly as possible so they could head on home.

Remaining silent, Dib allowed Zim to help him back to his feet before heading on out of the store, only to run smack into Jack, Purple, and the girls on their way out.

"Oh sorry, Zim." Jack helped the other back to his feet before also reaching down to help pick up Dib again. "Were you guys...waiting for us?" he asked, sending them both confused looks, not having been expecting to run into them in the game shop.

"Yes we were." Zim glared at the two girls, trying to keep his focus on the conversation with Jack however. "Now...Bad things...We're going shopping." he nodded and took Dib's arm to try and lead him away.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. We got distracted though by something you might be interested in seeing." Jack called out after Zim, stopping him before he could get too far. Then, looking back at Purple, he nodded.

"Uhm, Zim..." Purple reached back to pull something out of his PAK. "I saw this posted onto one of the walls while I was with Jack." he said before holding up what looked to be two pieces of paper with Dib's and Gaz's pictures on them. Then, underneath the pictures, there were the words "MISSING" followed by contact information and a reward for their safe return.

Zim froze at seeing the two fliers. "Uh oh...Dib, I forgot I wiped your father's memory! Of COURSE he's going to be looking for you..." he just about wanted to reach up and pull down hard on his own antennae.

"What?!" Dib grabbed the papers from Purple to look at closely himself, a part of him not wanting to believe that this day could get any worse than it already was.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 129. =3 Until next time~


	128. Chapter 130

ZADR Orange Chapter 130

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Raising a brow at Zim's words to Dib, Stella couldn't help but cut in before Dib even had the chance to say anything more. "You wiped his dad's memory? Is that even possible?" she said, not believing a word of it.

Zim snapped at her. "Of course it is, stupid human!" he exclaimed, voice holding a hint of annoyance in it.

Crossing her arms, Stella rolled her eyes at him. "Prove it." she said, just to get under his skin.

Grabbing hold of Zim's arm with both hands, afraid he would do something to blow his cover, Dib gave it a small tug.

About to pull out the device and flash Stella's memory away right then and there, Zim whined when Dib stopped him then looked at the hybrid pleadingly, wanting to do it so bad.

Pressing one of the Irken's hands to his belly where one of the smeets was kicking, Dib sent Zim his own pleading look.

Mellowing at the feel of the smeets, Zim sighed and leaned into Dib. "I'm sorry." he apologized to the boy.

"It's not worth it, Zim...It never is..." Dib pressed his cheek to Zim's arm.

Zim nodded slowly. "I know..." he said, reaching around to hold Dib close.

After a few more moments, Stella smirked back at Zim. "Pft...I knew it. Your boyfriend probably just ran away from home." she said, standing up straighter now to send Zim an all too superior look.

"Stella! That's enough! You don't understand the situation, and you have no idea what Dib's been put through in the past few months."

Holding Dib closer, Zim glared at her and growled loudly.

Glaring back at Zim, Stella then looked up at Jack. "But wouldn't it be against the law or something not to turn him in if you obviously know where he is? After all, his dad still has custody of him, doesn't he? Otherwise, he wouldn't be putting up all these posters in the first place." she said, hoping to stir up some trouble for them.

"No, he doesn't!" Zim glared more. "He forgot he kicked both Dib and Gaz out. So Dib lives with me now and Gaz lives with Tak." he said, absolutely refusing to let Stella turn them in.

His antennae falling back, Dib couldn't help but cringe at the mention of Tak.

"Your mate doesn't really look like the picture anymore anyways. But are you planning on informing his sibling and Tak of these posters?"

Zim nodded. "We'll have to now..." he said, turning to face Purple.

Dib looked back up at Zim at those words. "You don't think Gaz will get mad, do you?" he asked, knowing his sister would come to the conclusion eventually that Zim was the one who must have done SOMETHING to make their father forget everything that had happened between them prior to this moment in time.

Zim sighed. "I don't know, Dib..." he said, his antennae drooping slightly.

Dib's own antennae drooped at that answer. "Great...Just more reason for her to not want to see me..." he said, entire body slumping now.

Zim nuzzled him. "I'm sorry, Dib...First the pregnancy. Now this..." he said, closing his eyes in a defeated manner.

"Pregnancy? What pregnancy?" Stella looked over at Zim and Dib awkwardly, still trying to piece things together in her head.

Eyes growing wide and antennae perking, Dib turned back to face her, a look of panic on his face now. "P-Pregnancy? H-He didn't say pregnancy! H-He said...Uhm..." he looked about desperately, trying to think of another word that might rhyme with it.

Zim shook his head. "No, I said pregnancy. Tak is pregnant." he said before trying to calm Dib down again.

"O-Oh...Yeah...R-Right..." Dib said, hugging himself, all the day's stresses beginning to get to him, leaving him somewhat shaken and on edge.

Knowing his nerves were fried, Zim nuzzled him. "Come on, Dib. Let's make this quick." he said, just wanting to get it over with before Dib had another meltdown of some sort.

"...O-Okay..." Dib agreed, following Zim back over to where his sister had returned back to work while Tak, rather than playing video games, sat patiently, waiting for her to finish.

"Gaz-human?"

"What do you want, Zim?"

"Gaz. Dib is worried if something bad happened to either him or myself, you would ignore his smeets because you have your own now."

"Zim!" Dib's antennae drooped as he bowed his head down to look at the ground. "...Just forget it...She's going to have enough to deal with having a new smeet on the way...It wouldn't be fair to ask her to help with them knowing that already...That's why I didn't want to ask Jack or Rose either...The only reason we came over here was to warn her about the posters..." he said, not wanting Zim to throw their problems on her now, knowing she had her own to deal with already.

Gaz eyed Dib. "Dib, just because I have my own problems doesn't make yours unimportant. Same with Jack and Rose. EVERYONE has their own problems, but that doesn't mean they won't help you when you need it." she said, finding Dib's reasoning stupid.

"But that's just it! I already know you would all be willing to help if I asked! It's just the burden of it all that's getting to me! Why should I feel the need to ask you to take on my own problems?! I don't want things to be like that! Not when you're burdened enough as it is!"

"Dib, they're my nieces and nephews! It's not a burden. It's family."

"How can you say that so confidently?! How can you say that when we come from the most screwed up and broken family on the face of this Earth...? Mom's dead, dad abandoned us, and we barely even see each other anymore ever since he kicked us out of the house. Can you even consider that to be a real family when it's obvious everything else in our lives is trying to tear us apart in two different directions?!"

"Dib... Things happen..."

"No, Zim...Things happen to other families. But these aren't just "things" we're dealing with. They're catastrophes! It's like our family was cursed from the start to fail. Ever since I was born, my entire life has consisted of one catastrophe after another, and no matter how hard we try to pick ourselves up and move on, fate just doesn't seem to want to leave us alone because it just continues to throw more and more problems our way! And so I ask myself every single day whether it's even really worth it to keep on trying when I know it will all just end in failure like everything else in my life."

Holding Dib close, Zim sighed. "Was Zim a catastrophe?" he asked, feeling a bit hurt by Dib's words.

Dib fell silent for a few moments. "...No...You could never be a catastrophe, Zim...What was a catastrophe was nearly losing you all those times...Every fight we had, that time you removed your PAK because you thought my life would be better off without you, even just that time you wiped my memory...Those were all catastrophes...But the biggest catastrophe of all would be if I ever lost you permanently..." he said, keeping his eyes averted to the ground.

Zim nuzzled him. "I won't let that happen, Dib. And who knows...Maybe all this bad stuff is happening now for a reason. Maybe something good is just around the corner." he said with a small smile, trying to lift Dib's spirits again.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 130. =3 Until next time~


	129. Chapter 131

ZADR Orange Chapter 131

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Not so sure he believed Zim when he said something good might be right around the corner, Dib's antennae could only droop at the other's words. "...I doubt that...That hasn't been the case for the past 16 years of my life...Even when I think things might get better, they always just go from bad to worse...Perhaps it's not my family that's cursed but just me..." he sighed, hugging himself as he broke down a bit. "I don't want to think that things will get worse for us in any way, b-but it's just so hard when that's been the story of my life for every year since the time I was born..." he shuddered, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

Sighing, Zim kissed him. "Come on, Dib. We can just go shopping some other day. I think we should go home..." he said, needless to say that the majority of the day hadn't gone over quite so well.

"And what makes you think another day will be better for shopping than today?!" Dib suddenly yelled at Zim, falling silent only after he saw the look that came to Zim's face. "...I'm sorry..." he blinked his eyes partially closed as he looked away. "...I want to finish shopping before we go though...I want to have what we need for the smeets ready by the time they get here..." he said, very little emotion left in his voice now as he refused to meet Zim's gaze.

Looking away, Zim headed for the door, his head bowed. "Let's go then..." he said, his own voice sounding just as emotionless.

Just as Zim was leaving, Dib finally looked back up. "Zim..." he sighed to himself. "...I'm sorry..." he said under his breath before following Zim to the door. They had forgotten about warning Gaz about the posters that had been put up, but Dib figured she could take care of herself anyways.

Waiting for Dib at the door, Zim then led him to the store across from the game shop. "So, what are we getting?" he asked, refusing to make eye contact with the hybrid.

His antennae drooping, Dib remained silent for several long moments before bringing his gaze up to meet Zim's. "...I don't even know..." he shook his head slowly. He had been hoping Rose could help them with this part. "I-I'm sorry...I guess I'm not very good at this either..." he said, feeling useless.

Sighing heavily, Zim then tugged at his wig in frustration. "Not even an idea?" he said, having no idea what they needed himself.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry for yelling at you back there! I'm sorry for being so bad at this! I'm sorry I can't have a more positive outlook on life! And while I'm at it, I might as well say I'm sorry for my very existence!"

Knowing this wasn't going well, Zim flinched.

Seeing Zim flinch away from him, Dib felt his knees shaking beneath him before giving out, causing him to sink to the floor in defeat, his voice dropping to a whisper now. "...I'm sorry I can't control my emotions better..." he said, antennae falling completely limp against his head.

"I-It's not your fault...It's just hormones..."

Glancing up at Zim for a moment, Dib then dropped his eyes away again, pulling his knees to his chest and wilting. "...The smeets are causing my hormones to go wild...But that's only because they're upset with me...Even when they're not even born yet, I'm already doing a crappy job taking care of them..." he said in a quiet voice as he sat in the middle of the crowded mall.

"What? Nooo. That's not true, Dib..." Zim crouched down and hugged him close. "You're doing the best you can." he said, understanding how difficult this all was for him.

"Well, my best isn't that great..." Dib sighed before leaning in to Zim. "I think they get upset because of how much I hurt their daddy...You want only the best for us but still I'm not happy...I don't know what's wrong with me!" he hid his face in his hands.

"You're confused. It's natural, Dib...It'll be okay..."

"I hope so...Because I want to be happy...I really do...I want to be able to smile again and laugh and just not worry about everything all the time...And I want us to be happy...You, me, our smeets, OUR FAMILY...Do you think that will ever be possible with me being like this...?"

Smiling, Zim nodded. "Yes, Dib, and it will happen too." he said confidently.

After a moment, Dib smiled back. "Alright then...If you say so, I'll believe it..." he said before slumping up against Zim tiredly. "...And I'll do everything in my power to make it happen...Because that's a dream worth working towards..." he spoke softly into the other's chest.

Holding him close again, Zim nodded.

After a few more moments of silence, Dib blinked his eyes partially open. "Can we shop around for the smeets now? I want to pick out some things for them." he said, lifting his head to look up at Zim.

Zim nodded. "Sure. Come on." he took the hybrid by the hand and helped him back to his feet.

Allowing Zim to help him back up so they could start checking out things in the store, Dib clung tightly to Zim's arm, not wanting to pull away anytime soon. "This place is huge...And there are still so many things we need to get...I don't even know where to start." he said, having a look around as they entered the store.

"Well, we have clothes...How about bottles?"

"Okay..." Dib followed behind Zim until they had found the bottles, which were in an area that had other baby products such as pacifiers and teething rings. "Do you think they'll need any of these?" he asked, picking up one of the teething rings.

Zim nodded. "Definitely. Irken smeets need to teeth for a while." he said, trying to pull up all the information he knew about smeets already.

"Alright then." Dib picked out three differently colored pacifiers and teething rings for each, two of which matched his and Zim's eye colors and at least one that was a purple color, same as Zim's ship and base. "Will these do?" he then asked, holding up the six items.

Grinning, Zim nodded approvingly. "Yeah, those look good." he said, liking the color choices.

"Did you pick out some bottles for them yet?" Dib then asked, turning to look through a few other things, eyes lighting up a bit when he came across some rattles also. "Oh! How about these?! Do you think they'd like these?" he took up one of them and rattled it in front of Zim.

Eyes widening, Zim stared at it as Dib moved it around.

"Weeell?" Dib smiled wide at Zim as he continued to rattle it, amused.

Eyes never leaving the rattle, Zim's tongue soon lolled out. It was like he was hypnotized.

"Zim?" Dib tilted his head to the side confused, glancing at the rattle himself before taking it away to hide behind his back and snapping his fingers in front of Zim's face. "Zim, are you alright?" he asked, trying to get the other's attention again.

"Huh? What?" Zim pouted, looking for the rattle and whining a little.

"I was asking you whether you think we should get them some rattles." Dib said, pulling it from behind his back to hold in front of Zim again, though this time not rattling it. "Though I suppose if they have any reaction similar to yours, it could be used to our advantage whenever they get fussy." he said, deciding for himself.

Zim blushed at those words. "Yeah...We should get some." he said, his eyes once again glued on the rattle.

Smirking at the look on Zim's face, Dib turned to pick out two others. "I think I better carry them though." he said before turning back to face Zim so he could hold up one of the rattles and shake it in front of him, luring him away from that area after Zim had picked out some bottles for the smeets. "Now, what else do we need?" he asked, looking away momentarily to think.

"Hmm?" Zim continued staring at the rattle, already making plans to steal it eventually.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 131. =3 Until next time~


	130. Chapter 132

ZADR Orange Chapter 132

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Giving his question some thought of his own, Dib held the rattle just out of Zim's reach. "Do you think we should get a baby monitor? I mean, the smeets ARE going to be sleeping in our room at first, right?" he asked, looking back at Zim.

Zim nodded. "Yeah, we don't need it." he said, waving that suggestion off.

"How about...a mobile to hang over their crib or the changing table?" Dib asked, pointing to a few hanging mobiles nearby that were spinning about slowly, all with different designs and soft music coming from them. "We could get one that has stars and planets on it." he smiled. "It would go great with that rocket crib idea of yours." he then laughed. "Unless you feel like converting your actual ship into a crib for them." he said jokingly.

Zim smiled. "I would, but we might need it to get around...Hey, what about Tak's old ship though?" he suggested.

Dib seemed to give that some thought. "Tak's old ship? That's...really not a bad idea at all actually...B-But it's still at my old house in the garage. Would we really want to risk going there, knowing that my dad is looking for Gaz and me? I mean, even if he isn't home, chances are he's beefed up the security around the place. And..." he glanced in the direction of the game shop. "Even though it's been a few years, are you sure Tak wouldn't beat us up for using her old ship as a crib. I imagine she'd want it back, if anything." he said, not sure how she'd react if she knew he still had her old ship.

Zim scoffed. "She probably doesn't even remember it or thinks it was lost in space. As for your parental unit, I should just un-wipe his memory or something so that he stops looking for you and then sneak the ship out." he said with an affirmative nod.

"W-Well...I-If you think you can really do that...I-I guess we could convert it into a crib for them. After all, we'll need a pretty big one anyways for all three of them, and that would definitely be big enough for them, though I can't say for sure whether Tak has forgotten about that ship. She DID build it herself, after all, and programmed her personality into it. That's not exactly something someone forgets all too easily."

"Well, you removed her personality, right? And you personalized it some. We could say you made it with my equipment."

"But it still looks exactly like her old ship. I highly doubt she'd believe I made the whole thing out of scratch or that I'd make it look exactly like hers. Besides, when you tried to take it over that once and make it destroy me, it just ended up deciding it didn't like my personality and deleting everything I had put into it."

"Oh..." Zim looked away. "Maybe a paint job?" he said, as though that alone would be enough to fool Tak.

Dib merely shrugged. "If you think that would help, I guess it couldn't hurt...But there's no way in hell I'm letting it download my personality again. Aside from that whole "believing it was me" thing, I had to sit hanging from it for nearly ten hours, listening to it recount EVERY last detail of my life, including every failure." he shot Zim a glare for that.

Zim flinched. "I'm sorry..." he said, his antennae falling.

"Hmph...You really do owe me for that one, Zim. Ten hours at the city sewage plant. My sense of smell was shot for weeks after that!" Dib said before sighing. "But I'll forgive you for that...Only because I love you...And when I think of some way you can repay me, I'll let you know." he said with a small smirk.

Zim laughed a little. "Alright then, thank you, Dib." he kissed him.

Sighing out somewhat contently at the kiss, Dib found the other's chest to nuzzle into tiredly, letting out a small yawn. "So...What else do we need? We've already decided we're going to be using Tak's ship as a crib. But was that a yes on the mobile then?" he asked, glancing up at the spinning contraptions once again.

"Mmm...Yeah. Let's get one."

Pulling away from Zim after a moment, Dib picked out one that had stars dangling from it. "And should we get one to hang over the changing table too? Or should we find some other way of distracting them?" he asked, not wanting to replace the one mobile every time they changed and put them to bed.

Zim was once again eyeing the rattles. "I don't think distraction's going to be an issue..." he said in an all too dazed voice.

Dib looked down at the rattles yet again. "Well then maybe we should just hang these above their heads and see if that works." he laughed again, moving one of the rattles around and watching as Zim's eyes followed it everywhere he moved it. "Of course, then again, they could take more after me and not be as distracted by them as you are." he said teasingly.

Zim scoffed. "Zim is amazing. Of course they will take after- GIMME THAT THING!" he snatched the rattle and started shaking it with an all too amused look on his face.

When Zim snatched the rattle from him, Dib burst out laughing. "But I thought you said you WANTED them to take after me? Or was it that you just wanted them to look like me?" he said, smirking back at the other.

"Huh?" Zim asked, preoccupied with shaking the rattle.

"Awww...Ziiim..." Dib whined, nuzzling into the Irken now. "Don't tell me you find that thing more fun to play with than you do me. Besides, they're for the smeets. And I think I could do a much better job of distracting you than those could." he smirked, finding Zim's neck to run his tongue along teasingly.

The rattle falling out of his hand, Zim gasped.

After giving the skin on Zim's neck one last little love bite, Dib pulled away to smile up at the disguised alien almost seductively. "See? I told you I could distract you a whole lot better than that rattle." he said playfully.

"Mmmm~ Yes..." Zim purred and leaned forward, catching Dib's lips in a deep kiss.

Kissing back happily, Dib let his tongue slip past Zim's lips to explore the other's mouth curiously, his antennae twitching forward as though looking for Zim's, which were unfortunately hidden beneath his wig at the moment.

Moaning, Zim kissed back harder, sliding his own tongue against Dib's and wishing he didn't have to have the uncomfortable wig on.

When they were unsuccessful in locating Zim's, Dib's antennae slicked back, making him want to press himself up closer to the Irken to make up for the lack of contact.

Not objecting, Zim pulled closer as well, grinding against him.

Gasping somewhat sharply when Zim's hips met his own, Dib let out a low-toned moan, thankfully muffled by the other's mouth as they were in a public place. "Mmmm...Ziiim..." he panted out when the other pulled away momentarily to let them catch their breaths. "P-Please..." he looked at the other with half lidded eyes, his face flushed.

"Please what?" Zim purred, hovering over Dib's mouth.

Dib licked at Zim's bottom lip pleadingly. "Mmm...M-More...Closer...D-Don't stop..." he begged before letting his eyelids slip closed as he pressed as close as physically possible to Zim, just wanting to feel as much of his body as he could against his own. Heat prickling at his skin, he then felt himself beginning to sweat a little from how close the other was to him.

Groaning, Zim nodded and pushed Dib up against a shelf, sliding his hands into Dib's shirt and over his belly.

Skipping a beat, Dib felt his heart pounding faster in his chest as Zim's cool hands caressed his belly, bringing forth a happy flutter of kicking from one of the smeets. "Mmm..." he sounded out, enjoying every moment of this contact.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 132. =3 Until next time~


	131. Chapter 133

ZADR Orange Chapter 133

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Grinning through the kiss, Zim slowly slid one hand up to Dib's antennas while continuing to caress his belly with the other.

Opening his mouth, Dib gasped at the feel of Zim's fingers tracing the length of his antennas, causing him to arch his back slightly.

Pinching the tips a little, Zim continued to stroke the stalks.

Dib instinctively wrapped one of his legs around the back of one of Zim's as though to keep him from pulling away anytime soon. "Nyeh...Ah..." he moved his body with Zim's, wanting that friction.

Grinding against him, Zim pulled as close as he possibly could.

"Ehem!"

Jumping at the sudden interruption and pulling away from Zim somewhat, Dib's face flushed a bright cherry red now as he pressed his back as far back against the shelf as he could.

"Huh?" Zim looked over at the angry shopper glaring at them and covering their child's eyes.

"U-Uhm...M-Maybe we should finish up and go, Zim..." Dib said, glancing over at the shopper momentarily before bringing his flustered gaze back on Zim.

Zim sighed and nodded. "Only if we can finish at home." he said, rather irritated they had been interrupted to begin with.

Dib's antennae drooped as he nodded his own head. "Exactly what are we going to be finishing? I mean, how far were you planning on taking this here if we hadn't been interrupted?" he asked, blinking up at the other with a blush on his face.

Zim's eyes widened and he blushed more himself. "As far as you wanted to go..." he said, not really caring himself that they were out in public, Dib being his own true concern in that moment.

"I...I don't know how far I would have let us go if we hadn't been interrupted..." Dib admitted, his face lighting up a bright red now. "I don't think I even realized how far we had gone just now until we had been interrupted…" he then said, his mind having been elsewhere at the time.

Zim blushed and smiled. "I guess we'll find out then, huh?" he smirked a bit at Dib's outgoingness.

Dib looked back up at Zim and blushed. "I-I guess..." he looked away and smiled shyly.

Zim grinned wide and pulled away from him. "So what else do we need?" he asked, wanting to finish up quickly so he could take Dib home for some alone time together.

"U-Uhm...W-Well, I know we're not going to be really taking them too many places by car, but should we get them car seats for when we take them places by air? I mean, we could probably set them up in your ship for later use."

Zim shrugged. "If you think they would need them." he said, his mind no longer as focused on the task at hand.

Dib nodded his head. "I think they would come in handy. Neither of us could really hold all three of them in our laps if we ever needed to take them anywhere." he said, not wanting to risk the safety of their smeets.

"True. Okay, let's pick some out."

"They don't have to be anything special, just so long as they look safe."

"Of course."

"Hmm...What else do we need?"

"Diapers?"

"Oh yeah, and lots of them too. The washable kind or disposable? And should we go ahead and get some baby powder too while we're here?

"Uhhh...I don't think I want to be washing those things...Baby- YOU POWDER BABIES HERE?!"

"W-Well...Baby powder is just something used to prevent diaper rash. And it kind of smells nice too to cover up any unpleasant smells. "

"...Oh...So it's not made of powdered babies then?"

"Of course not. It's just something you put ON babies. Not make out of them. I think we can pick some up at the store near our house though. And some diapers too."

"Oh…Well in that case, sure."

"Besides, if we didn't use baby power when changing them, they would more than likely get upset."

Zim nodded. "Alright then." he said, storing all this information in his PAK now so he'd having it for later use.

After a moment, Dib fell silent for several long minutes. "...Uhm...C-Can you think of anything else we need? I know there must be more, but it just seemed so much easier when we had Rose helping us..." he sighed, antennae drooping.

Zim shook his head. "No, that's all I can think of..." he said, not so certain there really was anything more they needed.

"Well...I guess we can get the rest of what we need at a later time then..." Dib said, holding all the items they had already picked out in his arms. "Do you want to head home then?" he then asked, a small blush already painting his cheeks pink.

Zim nodded furiously. "YES! Let's get out of here." he said, just wanting to take the other home and forget everything else bad that had happened that day.

"Alright..." Dib nodded his own head before smirking at the Irken. "Besides...I know why YOU'RE in such a hurry to get home." he leaned in to Zim again to give his lips a small lick. "So...Do you think you have enough money to pay for all these things?" he then asked, not having any on him himself.

Zim moaned a little at the lick. "Mmm, yeah…I got enough~" he reached back to rummage through his PAK for the cash they needed.

"Mmm...Gooood…" Dib purred out, nuzzling his face back into Zim's neck. "Do you think we should get Rose in here before we go to buy it...? It might look a bit weird if we go up there alone..." he then murmured against Zim's skin.

"Nahhh. We can say it's for her baby if they ask."

"I just hope they don't notice the fact that I actually LOOK pregnant." Dib sighed against Zim's skin, his antennae then falling back to rest comfortably against his head. "I practically look as far along as Rose does because of these three...Maybe even farther..." he then said as he brought a hand down to smooth a palm over his swollen belly.

Zim nuzzled him. "You're overreacting, Dib-love." he said, going to help Dib move some of the baby items over onto the counter in front of the checkout lane.

Dib let out a small whine at the nuzzle. "No, I'm nooot...These smeets just seem to be growing more and more each day. I mean, can you imagine what I'll look like nine months into this?" he said, his face remaining hidden in Zim's neck. "I'll be a beached whale!" he then exclaimed, not liking the image that had popped into his own head.

Zim snorted a little. "No you won't, Dib." he tried to assure the other of that, just knowing Dib was jumping to conclusions now.

"How do you know? I mean, think about it. At the rate my stomach's growing, sooner or later I won't even be able to walk because my feet won't reach the ground. It's already getting hard to walk carrying all this extra weight around."

Zim's antennas drooped. "Th-Then you'll stay at home." he said, knowing that before too long Dib really wouldn't be able to leave the house without other people being able to tell he was pregnant.

"Either that or make you carry me around..." Dib peeked up at the other. "That is, if you're strong enough to carry me at that point. It would be better than waddling around like a penguin at least." he then said, making a small waddling motion where he stood.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 133. =3 Until next time~


	132. Chapter 134

ZADR Orange Chapter 134

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Smiling at Dib's words and the small penguin imitation he was doing, Zim leaned in to kiss him gently. "I'm strong enough to carry you, Diblet." he demonstrated by lifting Dib up bridal style. Faltering a little, he then grinned, straining a bit. "See?" he said through somewhat grit teeth.

"Well, yeah, maybe now, but are you still going to be able to when I'm farther along? It may seem like it's a long ways off from now, but before you even know it I'll be in my seventh or eighth month and need a disguise to even go out of the house because at that point no clothes will be able to hide it."

Zim shook his head. "Then I shall stay inside with you." he said, not minding himself if they spent a few months locked up in his base together.

"We can't stay inside the entire time though...I thought you wanted us to sign up for those classes pregnant couples go to to prepare."

"Oh right…" Zim had forgotten about them. He groaned and set Dib down before rubbing his temples. "Can we just go home?" he then asked, not wanting to think about them just yet.

"Okay..." Dib's antennae drooped, not having meant to stress Zim out.

Zim sighed. "Let's go pay." he said, getting in line behind some people and moving the baby products down the counter with them when the people in front of them had finished paying for what they were purchasing.

"...Okay…" Dib kept his gaze focused on the ground as they approached the cashier in the checkout lane to purchase their items. As the cashier was ringing up what they brought him, Dib then looks back up at Zim guiltily. "Are you angry...?" he then asked, having been able to sense a shift in Zim's mood.

"Why would I be angry?"

Dib glanced at the cashier momentarily before pulling Zim aside for a moment. "Because I keep stressing you out when I don't mean to...I'm sorry...I only brought it up because I want us to be prepared...You know, so you don't faint or something when I go into labor..." he smirked up at the Irken weakly.

Zim smiled. "Dib, I cut you open and turned you into what you are now. I think I can handle watching smeets come out of you." he said, not finding it to be quite as big a deal as Dib seemed to think it was.

"Are you really so sure about that?"

"Of course I am. Do not doubt Zim."

"I don't know about that. This is a completely different kind of pain than the kind you get when you cut someone open with a sharp object." Dib smirked at the other teasingly. "But since you're so convinced you won't have any problems watching it, I guess I should warn you now that I'll rip your head off if you even THINK about trying to take pictures or video tape it. You weren't planning on doing that, were you?" he then asked quickly, eyeing Zim suspiciously.

Zim gagged. "Who in their right mind would want to record such an event?!" he exclaimed, shuddering at the thought.

Dib shrugged. "I don't know...Some people do...They think childbirth is a beautiful thing and should be recorded to commemorate it...or something like that...But I think we'll be happy enough only having to experience it once." he said, not wanting one of his most private moments in life being recorded and saved to a tape for anyone else to see.

Zim nodded furiously. "Definitely." he said, knowing already that he could handle it but not necessarily wanting to experience it over and over again on tape.

"Though some people still bring a video tape into the delivery room with them, not necessarily to tape the baby BEING born, but just what's going on in the room around them. My parents did that...back when I was first born. My mom had wanted to have a video of right after I was born. Before I was born, dad just kept the camera focused on the clock in the room."

Zim smiled a little sadly and nuzzled him. "Should Zim do that?" he asked, thinking Dib might like a video of after their smeets were born to commemorate the occasion.

"Huh?" Dib blinked back up at Zim before blushing. "I...Do whatever you want...Just no close ups while it's happening if you do..." he then said, not really caring either way.

Zim smiled and kissed him. "Of course." he said, not wanting to do anything that would make Dib uncomfortable in the long run.

"HEY, move it already! We've got people waiting here!"

Dib glanced back at the cashier momentarily before bringing his gaze back to Zim. "Heh...I guess we should get moving now." he returned to the checkout lane to grab their bags. "Uhm...Should we find Rose and Jack now? And your leader?" he then asked, wanting to let Jack and Rose know they were leaving before grabbing Purple and heading on home.

Zim gave the cashier the money for the stuff and turned back to Dib. "If you want." he said, not really caring either way.

"Well, we can't just leave your leader here with Rose and Jack. And we really should tell them if we're leaving. It would be rude to just up and leave without letting them know, especially after everything they've done for us."

Zim nodded. "Okay, okay. We'll go tell them." he agreed, taking Dib by the arm to lead him out of the store.

"We weren't gone for too long. They're probably still back in the game shop." Dib said as they began heading back towards the entrance to the store. Looking up, he then saw Rose standing by the front entrance to the baby store.

Reading something posted on the front door, Rose only looked up when Zim and Dib approached closer. "Oh, Zim. Dib. I was just coming to look for you." she said before noticing the bags. "Did you already buy everything you needed in the time you were gone?" she then asked, somewhat surprised they had gotten along on their own.

"U-Uhm...No...Not everything...But a few things." Dib said, reaching into the bag to pull out one of the rattles so he could shake it in front of Zim's face.

Whining, Zim tried to snatch it away from him, his eyes locked onto it.

Pulling it back, just out of reach of Zim, Dib smiled wide at the other's reaction.

Rose laughed a bit herself at the teasing. "Oh, now that's just mean, Dib." she said, finding his teasing to be a little more than cruel.

"Yeah...I guess you're right..." Dib said before handing it to Zim to play with as he searched through the bag for the pacifiers, teething rings, and bottles they had bought to show her. "We decided not to buy them a crib and instead use Tak's old ship since I still have it stored away in the garage of my old house." he then said as he rummaged about in the bag.

Busy shaking the rattle ferociously, Zim, meanwhile, was causing quite the racket.

Nodding at Dib's words, Rose began laughing uncontrollably upon seeing Zim's display.

Dib laughed himself at Zim's rattling.

"Did you consider buying him his own rattle while you were in there since he seems to like it so much?" Rose asked in a whisper to Dib.

"Well...I did, but I think for now I'll just let him play with one of the three we got for the smeets since they won't be using them for another few months or so."

"I'll bet you could get him to do whatever you'd like with that thing."

"I was considering trying that sometime tonight. See if he'd be willing to get up in the middle of the night and buy me some ice-cream or something if I whipped it out for him." Dib snickered deviously into his hands.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 134. =3 Until next time~


	133. Chapter 135

ZADR Orange Chapter 135

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

No longer paying any mind to what Dib and Rose were saying, Zim hardly responded when he heard his name being brought up in their conversation. "Huh?" he acknowledged words had been spoken but didn't comprehend what they were.

Rose smiled at Dib amusedly. "I'm sure it will work like a charm." she said, sending Dib a small wink.

Beginning to purr, Zim leaned on Dib as he continued shaking the rattle.

"Well, anyways, I was just looking over these signup sheets for those classes you wanted to sign up for. Did you want me to go ahead and sign you up already?"

"Shika! Shika! Shika!" Zim interrupted her before rattling on.

"Hmm? What was that?" Dib blinked at Zim confusedly.

"Huh?"

"What was that you just said? Was it Irken?"

"Huh?" Zim shook his head. "Uhh…No?" he then kept shaking the rattle and laughed, making the sound again.

Dib smiled, leaning in to kiss him lightly on the lips. "Oh, really? Then what was it?" he asked, smirking at the Irken playfully.

Zim blushed at the kiss. "Nothing." he said with a small whine, just wanting to be left alone to his own devices at this point.

"Mmm...I don't believe you..." Dib said, placing another small peck on the Irken's lips. "But I'll let it slide if you buy me ice-cream later." he then smiled wide at the other as he nuzzled him affectionately.

Zim pouted but agreed. "Fiiine. Shika! Shika! Shika!" he shook the rattle again.

Dib smiled smugly before turning back to Rose. "Yeah, that would be great if you could do that for us. When exactly would we be required to actually start attending them though?" he asked, wanting to know ahead of time so they could be prepared for it.

"Well, probably around the sixth or seventh month. I'm not positive though. We've never actually made it this far ourselves."

"Alright then...Go ahead and sign us up. We'll look it up later."

Rose smiled. "Okay then. Are you two going to go home now?" she asked, knowing they wanted to get out of there already so they could relax at home after having been away for so long.

Still not paying attention, Zim merely purred loudly.

Dib glanced down at Zim before looking back at her. "Yeah, we were planning on it just as soon as we got Zim's leader." he said, looking back towards the game store.

"Oh, well Purple was still in the game shop with Jack and the girls when I left. He was...playing a game...with your sister's gir-" Rose stopped herself before she could say 'girlfriend', not wanting to upset Dib again. "Uhm...With Tak..." she then corrected herself quickly but quietly.

"O-Oh...Well, I..." Dib sighed. "We can't just leave him here...I'll go ahead and say goodbye to my sister and then we'll grab him and leave." he then said, not wanting to stay long so long as Tak was still there.

"Wait, why can't you leave him here? We can bring him home."

"N-No...I'd really rather you didn't...Y-You've already done so much for us...We couldn't possibly ask you to do that...It's really no trouble at all." Dib smiled weakly at Rose. "B-Besides...I-It will only take a moment to grab him..." he then said, grabbing Zim by the arm to head for the game shop.

"Nonsense, Dib. You two go ahead. Purple's having a great time with the kids, and I know you two would like some time alone."

Dib blushed at her last few words, glancing back at Zim and knowing she was right for what they had been planning on doing after they got home. "Weeell...I guess it couldn't hurt too much...I...Alright...We'll...keep the door unlocked for him for when he does come home." he nodded his head in agreement. "Thank you...For everything, I mean..." he then thanked her, really appreciating everything she'd done for them that weekend.

"Don't worry about it, Dib." Rose smiled and pulled him into a hug. "You two be careful, okay?" she then wished them a safe ride home.

Dib nodded his head. "Okay..." he turned back to Zim. "Are you ready to go, Zim?" he then asked, tilting his head to one side as the Irken continued to play with the rattle.

"Mmm hmm..."

"Umm...If he's taking you home, you might want to get that thing away from him so you won't crash..."

"Oh, I'll get it away from him easily." Dib said before snatching it out of Zim's hands and bopping him on the head with it lightly.

Whining loudly, Zim grabbed the top of his head.

Dib smiled happily to himself. "That's better." he said before taking Zim by the arm and dragging him towards the exit. "Talk to you later, Rose!" he then called back over his shoulder at her, waving to her as they left.

"So, are we going home now?" Zim asked, the rattle now out of sight and out of mind.

"Well, that was sort of the plan, wasn't it? So we could...Uhm...Y-You know...F-Finish what we had started back in the...Uhm...The store back there..." Dib stuttered out as he pulled the other along, his cheeks flushing a bright red color now as he played around with the bag of baby items in his hands nervously.

Zim grinned wide. "But of course." he took Dib's arm and led him to where he had parked the voot.

Dib looked up as they approached the ship. "Y-You flew here?" he said, blinking wide eyes at Zim. "I-Isn't that somewhat dangerous to do in broad daylight? I mean, I can understand taking it out at night, but there aren't really many places you can hide it during the day. What if somebody had found it?!" he then exclaimed, rather appalled over the fact Zim would take such a risk.

"Dib, NOBODY will find it. Humans are stupid."

Dib's antennae seemed to droop at those words. "B-But I'M part human...A-And Rose and Jack are human...And Gaz is too...Even our smeets are part human..." his voice fell down to a whisper as he pressed a hand to his swelling belly.

"Well not ALL humans are stupid!" Zim rephrased quickly, pulling Dib into a hug. "Only most of them." he then nodded, not wanting Dib to feel as though he were lumping him in with the majority.

Dib found Zim's chest to hide his face away in as the other pulled him into a hug, his antennae twitching slightly. "...So you don't regret the fact that our smeets are part human...?" he asked, peering up at Zim.

"Of course not. That just means they're part you."

Dib's antennae fell back to rest more comfortably against his head as he lifted his head up more to look at Zim better. "...But I hope they turn out more like you...You...make me happy...So I want them...I want them to take more after you..." he said, hoping they wouldn't turn out too much like him.

Zim smiled sadly and nuzzled Dib. "They won't have to take after us, Dib. They can be their own selves." he said, not wanting to think of them as clones of themselves.

Dib smiled back a tiny bit. "But still...I hope...I hope they pick up some of their daddy's funny habits and mannerisms...Like...your reaction to the rattle..." he said, not opposed to having three little Zim-like smeets running around the house.

Zim blushed darkly. "That cursed thing." he shook a fist at the air, embarrassed over how easily manipulated he had been by its all too intriguing rattling noise.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 135. =3 Until next time~


	134. Chapter 136

A/N: Alright. In the event it isn't obvious enough to those of you reading, YES, tomorrow's chapter IS indeed an 18+ chapter. As always, I do NOT want to hear any complaining about it not being posted here on FF. For those of you who want to read Chapter 137 tomorrow, please keep your eyes peeled for the FA link posted in my profile. It will be posted under the "ZADR Orange Related Links" heading"M-Rated chapters."

So, for those of you 18 years of age and older, you can feel free to either look this chapter up on DA under the account name Dib-The-Hybrid or follow the FA link I leave in my profile.

YES, you do need an account to access the chapter on these sites. And YES, you do need to be 18 or older in order to view the content of these chapters. (Also keep in mind that you may have to adjust your mature content settings on FA before you'll be able to see the chapter.)

Things I will NOT do:

Post the full sex scene here on FF.

Send the chapter in a PM to anybody who asks me.

Kindly refrain from sending me any messages about how some people get away with posting sexual content here on FF. The bottom line is, sexual content is NOT allowed here on FF. Regardless of whether people get away with it or not, that does not make everybody immune to having their stories removed. I have had stories removed in the past and I refuse to put myself in such a situation with this story. After all, it only takes one report to have a story completely removed from this site. So please bare that in mind before you decide to all come harassing me about it.

Don't believe me about FF's rules on sexual content? Then please see my Chapter 25 A/N in "Dib Is Sick" for a more detailed run-through of this site's rules and regulations. I'm serious, you guys. Please no messages about my decision not to post the full sex scene here. I am tired of going over this every time I post a chapter with sexual content in it. I would really appreciate it if you guys would try to see where I'm coming from in all this and just respect my decision not to post that sort of content here on FF.

That said, I hope you guys otherwise enjoy the continuation of ZADR Orange. =3 (P.S.- Yes, the above is going to be my new warning for ALL sex scenes from now on. Doesn't really matter which story I'm posting for. The same applies for all of them.)

ZADR Orange Chapter 136

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Smirking up at the other teasingly when he shook his fist to the sky and declared his hatred of the rattle, Dib couldn't help but press his body flush against Zim's as he wrapped his arms comfortably around the ranting Irken's neck. "You know you like it...But -I- know something you like even more..." he said, leaning up to kiss Zim gently on the lips.

Zim moaned a little, pressing back hard against Dib's own lips. "Let's go home already then." he said, once they had broken their kiss.

"Mmmmm...Okay…" Dib pulled Zim back with him towards the ship, never taking his eyes off the other's as he backed up towards the purple space craft in question slowly.

Grinning, Zim initiated the door to open.

Feeling his back press up against the side of the ship, Dib pressed closer to him as Zim seemed to corner him up against it.

Purring loudly, Zim wrapped his arms around Dib and stroked his sides.

His eyelids slipping closed, Dib sighed out contently as Zim's hands trailed along his sides, feeling all along them.

Zim kissed him deeply and passionately.

Dib felt the Irken push his tongue past his lips to explore his mouth. "Mmm..." he enjoyed the taste of the other's mouth

One hand moving up to rub Dib's belly, Zim ground against him.

The friction drawing out a groan from him, Dib arched his back enough for Zim's hips to meet his own.

Zim pulled back, smirking and panting. "Base?" he asked, not wanting to waste even another moment there in the parking lot.

Panting as well, Dib moved his hands up Zim's body to his chest, clinging to him almost desperately now. "Anywhere...Anywhere we can be alone..." he said, out of breath from how badly he wanted the other.

Nodding, Zim swiftly picked Dib up bridal style, carrying him into the voot and closing the door.

Dib nuzzled himself into Zim's lap as the other took a seat. "I don't...I don't understand how you...how you could make me feel so weak-kneed...whenever you come close..." he said between pants before swallowing thickly, his eyelids drooping.

Zim grinned wider. "Zim is just that good, Dib-love. You want me, don't you?" he licked up Dib's antennae.

Dib gasped at the feel of Zim's serpentine tongue dragging itself along the length of his antennae before shuddering in anticipation. "...Yes..." he blushed, not meaning to sound as desperate as he did in that moment. He had been waiting so long for this over the past two days though, every time the other got near him sending a jolt of excitement throughout his body.

Purring loudly, Zim sucked on Dib's antennae as he started up the voot and quickly flew them home.

Clinging tightly to Zim all the while, Dib breathed heavily as he did his best not to squirm in Zim's lap too much so they wouldn't crash on their way back home.

Having to force himself to focus on driving, Zim, as soon as they landed, returned his attention back to Dib.

Not even realizing they had landed at first as his face was hidden away in Zim's shirt, Dib's free antenna twitched as his lower lip remained lodged between his teeth.

Zim wrapped his arms around him and licked up his antennas again. "Mmm~ Diiib~" he tried to draw the other's attention back to him.

"Hmmm...?" Dib lifted his head from Zim's chest, his eyes still closed in bliss as he sighed out contently, everything lost to him now save for the feeling of Zim's mouth around his antenna.

Grinning wide, Zim pulled Dib up into his lap completely.

Dib gasped sharply as the Irken tugged him close, their hips meeting as he was practically straddling Zim's lap now. "MmmNeh…" he sounded out between heavy breaths.

Moving to Dib's mouth, Zim kissed him intimately as he moved his hands to squeeze his butt.

Squirming about in the Irken's lap, Dib couldn't help but let out a small, startled squeak when Zim grabbed his bottom and squeezed it.

Grin widening, Zim slipped his tongue into the kiss and wrapped it around Dib's own.

Kissing back needily, Dib tried to force his own tongue into Zim's mouth as the two tongues seemed to battle for dominance, Zim's ultimately winning in the long run however.

Zim moaned, grinding against Dib and squeezing his butt tightly again before pulling back a little for air. "Bed?" he asked, wanting to do this somewhere they'd have more room to move.

Dib could only nod his head, eyes closed and his tongue hanging out as he caught his breath. "Y-Yeah...I don't...I don't want us to be interrupted again..." he said, wrapping his legs around Zim.

Groaning, Zim nodded his head and picked Dib up as best he could before carrying him towards the bedroom.

His legs still wrapped about Zim, Dib brought his arms up to wrap around Zim's neck as the other carried him towards the elevator.

Still molesting Dib as he shoved him against the elevator wall, Zim waited for it to go down.

"Ah!" Dib threw his head back as the other pressed as close as possible to him, running his hands up under his shirt.

Purring loudly, Zim felt Dib up roughly but eased back to being gentle when he felt the smeets moving inside of Dib.

"Mmm...Ziiim...M-More..." Dib bucked his hips slightly against Zim's ministrations, wanting to feel nothing but Zim and only Zim, closer, more intimate.

Licking up Dib's belly, Zim pushed the boy's shirt off completely before making his way back to Dib's face and lips.

Moaning lowly into the kiss, Dib worked his own hands underneath Zim's shirt, wanting to feel that soft, Irken skin beneath his palms.

Helping Dib take off his shirt, Zim jolted slightly when the elevator dinged.

Unwrapping his legs from around Zim so he could stand again, Dib tossed Zim's shirt off to the side in the elevator once it was off before pushing Zim backwards out the elevator doors and towards the bed in the room.

Laughing a little, Zim flipped them around so he was the one pushing Dib down onto the bed.

Feeling himself sinking into the covers as Zim pushed him onto the bed, Dib shifted when the mattress caved in even more with said Irken's additional weight, the alien straddling his middle the best he could despite his belly being in the way slightly.

Tugging Dib's pants off, Zim stroked his sides and swollen belly.

Breathing in shakily as Zim ran his hands up his bare sides, Dib then exhaled slowly, Zim's every touch making him want to shudder as he reached for Zim's own pants and tugged at them, wanting them off.

Chuckling and kicking his own pants off for Dib, Zim then pinned the boy to the mattress and licked his way up the side of Dib's face seductively.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 136. =3 Until next time~


	135. Chapter 139

A/N: Alright. Now I don't want any confusion, you guys. If you haven't figured it out yet though, both Chapters 137 AND 138 were 18+ chapters. Therefore, neither were posted here on FF. Links to the FA versions ARE posted in my profile, so feel free to look them up there if you're old enough to and want to know what happens in those two chapters. As for today's chapter, we'll be moving on with Chapter 139 now. HOWEVER, let it be known that one or two more chapters are approaching that contain adult material in them. Therefore, the chapter numbers for this story will be getting thrown off quite a bit at this point. So please just bear with me and keep an eye on my A/N's so you'll all know what's going on with the changing chapter titles. I don't want to have to answer a dozen different PMs about this just because people are too lazy to read what I have to say at the beginning of each chapter. That being said, please enjoy the continuation of ZADR Orange.

ZADR Orange Chapter 139

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Sleeping for the next hour or two, Dib didn't awaken again until he heard the sound of the doorbell ringing upstairs. "H-Huh?!" he came to, sitting up in the bed quickly.

Snoring lightly next to him, Zim didn't budge.

"Zim?" Dib looked down at the Irken. "Who could that..." he then began to say before gasping. They had forgotten to unlock the door for Zim's leader! Scrambling to his feet, he searched the floor frantically for his clothes but could only find his pants, his shirt having been discarded elsewhere.

The doorbell rang again followed by some pounding.

"A-Ah!" Dib looked around for something else he could pull on over his chest. He considered grabbing the blanket on the bed, but decided against it seeing as how he didn't want to disturb Zim. So, grabbing the first shirt he could find out of the bag of clothes they had bought the other day, he didn't even look before pulling it on and running upstairs. Little did he realize it was the bunny top he had grabbed to pull on.

Waiting for the door to be opened, the person on the other end continued to pound away at it.

Dib finally reached the living room and made a dash for the front door. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" he came to a halt in front of the door and pulled it open. "I'm so sorry! We completely forgot about leaving the door unlocked for you!" he then apologized before he had even managed to yank the door open. Much to his surprise however, rather than finding Purple on the other side, there rather stood another Irken at the front door to the base.

The random Irken glared at Dib. "Is this the residence of Ex-Invader Zim?" he asked, not recognizing Dib as either of the two Irkens he was looking for.

"Huh?" Dib's eyes grew perfectly wide at the sight of the Irken, a short Irken wearing a white lab coat over what looked to be lightly colored greenish-blue medical scrubs. Antennae falling back uncomfortably, hidden beneath the bunny hood, he could only take a few steps back, away from the Irken at the door. "Who wants to know?" he then asked, uncertain as to what this Irken's business with Zim was.

"The tallest sent for me. I'm a medical drone."

"A...medical drone?" Dib stared at the Irken with wide eyes before blushing a bit. "Oh...Yeah...Zim wanted you to come...Umm...Come on in...I guess..." he then moved aside to let the Irken in, all the while staring at him awkwardly. "Do you...Do you want me to get Zim? He's...sleeping...down in his lab." he said, pointing behind himself in the direction of the elevator. "Your...Your leader isn't here right now...He'll be coming back soon though..." he said, having almost forgotten Zim and Purple had made a stop by the base earlier to contact this guy.

The drone nodded. "Alright, bring me to Zim then." he said, needing to touch base with at least one of the two in order for him to do his job.

"Bring you...to him?" Dib blushed a bit more. "U-Umm...M-Maybe you should wait up here for me to get him." he then said, smiling nervously as he didn't want anybody to see what a mess their bedroom was now.

"Fine." the drone nodded before standing back to wait.

"Heh...B-Be right back." Dib ran back to the elevator and took it down to the bedroom so he could wake up Zim. Upon entering the room, he climbed up onto the bed to shake Zim. "Zim...ZIM...Wake up. That medical drone you called for earlier is here. I-I don't know what to do with him. You need to get dressed and come upstairs with me." he then tried to rouse the Irken from his sleep.

Groaning, Zim opened his eyes to look up at Dib before he started to snicker.

"Hmm?" Dib tilted his head to one side and blinked down at the other confusedly when Zim began snickering at him. "Wh-What's so funny?" he then asked, still having yet to realize he was wearing the bunny hood.

Zim smiled and pulled him down to kiss sweetly. "I knew you liked that shirt." he said in a small, teasing voice to the other.

"What?" Dib sat up to turn and look at himself in the mirror Zim had in the room. "AH!" he then blushed and reached up to try and tug at the ears so he could pull it off but had some difficulty doing so. "I...Nnn...Do...Ah...Not...LIKE IT!" he struggled to pull it off. "I only grabbed it because I couldn't find my shirt and somebody was at the door! And that somebody was another Irken claiming to be a medical drone!" the ears on the shirt snapped back into place when he couldn't pull it off, causing him to topple backwards onto his back where he had some difficulty rolling back over because of his large belly.

Zim giggled and got up to help Dib off the floor, kissing him again. "Come on, Dibbles. You look so cute in it. Huh? Medical drone? Oh, it must be the one the Tallest called for you." he smiled and got dressed, pulling on the frog shirt to match Dib before grinning wide. "What do you think?" he then asked, standing back to give Dib a good view of the shirt he was wearing.

Dib only blushed a brighter red at the kiss and at Zim's words before staring up at the other wide-eyed when he pulled on the frog shirt. "You look...like a frog..." he blushed and looked away shyly. He didn't know what to think of the top Zim was wearing in that moment.

"You like it? I got it so we'd match."

"So we'd...So we'd match?" the words just seemed to slip past Dib's mouth in a quiet whisper as he brought his gaze back up to look at Zim. "And you're not embarrassed to be seen wearing it?" he then asked, thinking Zim the least likely of candidates to want to wear something like that.

"Of course not." Zim smiled. "Besides, it's really soft." he then said, running a hand over the surface of the shirt a few times.

"O-Oh...O-Okay then..." Dib blushed a light pink. "W-Well...Th-That medic drone is waiting upstairs still..." he then reminded the other, pointing a finger upwards to indicate the living room.

"Oh yeah." Zim tugged some pants on and grabbed Dib's arm to run upstairs with him.

Letting Zim pull him along, Dib stopped once they had entered the living room again and hid somewhat behind Zim, not exactly used to being around other Irkens yet. Hell, he was barely used to being around Zim's leader and Tak, let alone a complete stranger who was apparently going to be the one ultimately delivering his smeets. His antennae fell back, still not happy with the situation.

Zim saluted him by sticking his antennae in the air. "You're here to deliver our smeets, correct?" he addressed the Irken once he had entered the living room with Dib.

The medic drone turned to Zim, raising his own antennae in a small salute back. "Ah, yes...I take it that's your mate hiding behind you? The one carrying the… umm...live smeets?" he wanted to make sure.

Zim nodded, pulling Dib forward. "That's right. This is Dib." he said, introducing the drone to his mate with a nod.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 139. =3 Until next time~


	136. Chapter 140

ZADR Orange Chapter 140

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Eyeing Dib up and down when Zim pulled the hybrid forward and introduced them to each other, the medic drone nodded his own head in Dib's direction before returning his attention back to Zim. "Ah...So this is the mother...And he's...not completely Irken? Am I getting this right?" he asked, liking to know more about his patients before he worked with them.

Zim nodded. "Dib is half human, yes." he said, not wanting to leave out even minor details in the event complications arose.

"Alright then, this is starting to make a little more sense now. When you first called, I had thought that perhaps you and Tallest Purple had been harboring a few smeets. But when he told me it was live smeets I was going to be dealing with, I was a little thrown off. I've delivered live smeets for one other couple before. An Irken and another half breed. But that was many years ago and a case such as this hasn't arisen since then. So tell me. How far along do you suppose your mate to be currently, and how many more months do you believe he has before giving birth to them?"

"Uhh…" Zim thought it over. "About four or five months, I think…And I think he has to carry them for nine months." he then answered to the best of his abilities.

"Ah...I suspected it might be for a while longer than regular smeets. Live smeets seem to be in need of more time developing. The last ones I delivered were carried for at least seven months before the birthing time. So nine months really doesn't sound all that far off in comparison."

Zim nodded and leaned his head on Dib, holding him close. "Should we show you to your room?" he asked, thinking the drone might want to get settled before continuing any further with this conversation.

The medic drone nodded. "Very well then, I'd like to get a better idea of my surroundings though once I'm settled in. I always feel more comfortable working in an environment I'm familiar with. So if you'd show me where it is you're planning on having him set up during the birthing process, I'd greatly appreciate it. And I'd like to have a few things set up in there ahead of time just in case something happens before the supposed birthing time." he said, never one to let his guard down about any of his cases.

Nodding, Zim held Dib close before leading the drone to the med bay of the base.

The medic drone walked about the medium-sized room, giving the equipment a good look-over. "Ah...Yes...This will do nicely...I might suggest having a few blankets and towels down here and making the bed your mate will be in as comfortable as possible." he said to Zim as he recalled the details of the last live birth he'd assisted in.

Zim nodded and nuzzled Dib. "Okay." he said with a nod, deciding he'd bring some down later at the doctor's orders.

"...Will it hurt a lot...?" Dib finally asked for the first time since they had headed back downstairs. Of course, he knew it would but just wanted to maybe get an idea from the doctor of what the ordeal would be like.

"Ah- Yes…It will hurt a whole lot, if the screaming from the last one was anything to go by."

Dib shuddered in Zim's arms, reaching up to pull down on his antennae as he tried not to think about it. "Will the...Will the smeets be alright though?" he asked, willing to put up with the pain just so long as the smeets came out alright.

The medic drone nodded. "As long as there are no severe complications, they should be just fine." he said to put the other's mind at ease just a bit.

Dib let out the breath he had been holding slowly, trying to remain as calm as possible. "I...I think I need to lay down for a while...Excuse me..." he pulled away from Zim to head on back to the bedroom.

Zim's antennas drooped and he bit his lip. "Uh…Let me show you to your room." he said quickly, wanting to finish up the tour as soon as possible so he could go and check on Dib.

Meanwhile, returning to the bedroom, Dib collapsed onto the soft covers of the bed and nuzzled his face into one of the pillows as he held his stomach and rubbed it soothingly.

Zim showed the med drone to his room and made sure he knew where everything was that he might need before returning to the bedroom to check on Dib. "Dib-love, are you okay?" he asked, once he had reached the doorway to their room.

Dib turned over in the bed to look at Zim when he heard the other's voice. "I'm...fine..." he said before sending the Irken a weak smile. "I'm...going to be fine..." he then breathed out slowly before raising his arms up and holding them out for the other.

Zim smiled sadly and came up to him, pulling him into a tight hug. "I love you." he spoke softly into the other's antennae.

Dib tugged at Zim to join him on the bed as he hugged him back tightly. "I love you too..." he whispered as he wrapped his legs around Zim to pull him in closer.

Zim kissed him and snuggled close. "Want to nap?" he asked, knowing their earlier nap had been cut short by the arrival of the medic drone.

"If that's what you want..." Dib said, closing his eyes as he kissed Zim's chest and then his neck, breathing warm, moist air out against the other's skin.

Zim shivered, moaning a little. "You're so addicting~" he purred, getting slightly turned on by Dib's attentions.

"No." Dib shook his head, his breathing coming out in slow, heavy breaths. "You're the one who's addictive." he then said as a heat like before rippled beneath the surface of his skin, causing him to push closer. "You're...everything that matters...ALL that matters..." he said before running his tongue up Zim's neck, the taste exciting him.

Zim purred, antennas twitching. "Mmm~ Diiib." he buried his head into his neck and nibbled on him before moving up to Dib's antennas and licking at one of the stalks.

Dib gasped sharply at the lick to his antenna, his breathing quickening as his hands found their way to the rim of Zim's shirt, pushing it up so he could feel skin against skin. "Zim..." the other's name escaped his lips as the resulting heat only pushed him on more.

Purring, Zim sucked Dib's antenna into his mouth.

"Ah!" Dib arched his back. "Please...More!" he then begged, wanting more feeling, more of Zim, the desire only building even more with each passing second. He wanted Zim. It was painful, but he wanted Zim, wanted Zim's cool skin against his own burning skin.

Purring louder, Zim grinned wide as he wrapped his arms around Dib tightly, grinding against him.

Dib let his eyes roll back before closing as his panting could only grow heavier with the friction. "Please..." he begged for more yet again, moving Zim's hands down his body to linger at his belly for a moment before guiding them lower, past his waist. "Please..." his breath then seemed to hitch in the back of his throat as his lips trembled. "Please..." his body followed soon after, breaking into shivers as he whimpered out shakily, a few stray tears slipping past his eyelids and down his cheeks.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 140. =3 Until next time~


	137. Chapter 142

ZADR Orange Chapter 142

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Sighing out afterwards once they had both reached their peaks for the second time in a row now, Zim held the exhausted Dib close to him, the both of them having worn themselves out as Zim assumed Dib would fall asleep any minute now followed by himself shortly after.

Having by now already for the most part calmed his breathing, Dib laid tiredly against Zim's chest, listening to his heartbeat and this time no longer having it in him to go any farther with Zim right then. "How many...How many more times do you think we'll be able to do this?" he asked between soft pants, his mind still swimming in a sea of ecstasy from their last round of lovemaking.

Zim nuzzled him, his eyes partway closed now. "Tonight? None." he responded in a tired voice, not thinking he had it in him to start all over again after their last romp underneath the covers.

Dib giggled to himself at that answer. "No, not tonight...I meant...Before the smeets are born..." he corrected himself, already knowing that neither of them would be moving again for quite a few hours still.

Zim grinned. "Well…I guess it all depends on what else we have to do before then. You know, to get ready and all..." he reminded the other, knowing they only had so much time before their hands would be completely full taking care of the smeets.

Dib nodded. "True...What about AFTER they've been born though? Do you think we'll be able to do this after they've been born? Because I'm already pregnant, there's not really anything more for us to worry about when we do this...But after...Are we even going to be able to do this? Do this without risking another pregnancy, I mean?" he asked, not wanting to give up on sex but knowing already the additional risks that would come with it in the future.

Zim's antennas drooped. "I didn't think of that..." he shook his head. "I'm sure we could figure something out though..." he then said, not liking the idea of giving up sex in the future either.

"Well, we do have certain birth control methods here on Earth that we could try, but there wouldn't be any guarantee that they'd work the same for an Irken as they would for a human. Sometimes they're not even effective for some humans. I mean...We could always try a condom, but those break sometimes, and I doubt the experience would be as pleasurable." Dib sighed.

Zim sighed also and nuzzled him. "Well, let's just wait and see how things work out, okay? We might even be too busy with three smeets to get the chance to do this again anytime soon." he said, doubting they'd be doing much of anything other than caring for them after they were born.

Dib sighed again before nodding his head slowly. "We'll definitely be busy..." he pressed a hand to his belly.

Zim smiled as his hand found Dib's. "It'll be worth it..." he said in a soft voice to the hybrid, not wanting him to regret the smeets' arrival.

"...I know...Are you scared...?" Dib asked in a quiet voice, as though raising it any higher than that would ruin this moment in time.

Zim bit his lip. "A little nervous...What if they don't like me? What if something bad happens? I just…It's a lot to have on my mind…It's probably worse for you though...I'm sorry." he apologized, knowing how hard this had all been on Dib from the get-go.

"It's alright." Dib reached up a hand to cup Zim's cheek before leaning in to kiss him lightly on the lips. "Everything...will be alright...so long as I have you." he then smiled to himself a bit. "And the smeets will love you...a LOT..." he said before bringing up a second hand to frame Zim's face, smiling even wider. "I'll bet they'll look a lot like you. I only wish I had a picture of when you were a smeet to compare them to when they're born." he said, trying to imagine what Zim might have looked like when he was younger.

Zim blushed darkly. "Uh…I-If you really want one... I could get one from the database at one of the smeet facilities..." he looked away embarrassed.

Dib's eyes seemed to light up at that bit of information as he smiled wide at Zim. "Really?! That would be great, Zim!" he hugged Zim tightly and nuzzled into him happily, his antennae twitching excitedly at the thought of getting to see a picture of when Zim was first born.

Zim laughed nervously.

Dib didn't notice Zim's nervous laughter. "Mmm...I bet you were really cute when you were first born..." he murmured against Zim's skin before lifting his gaze back up to look at him and smile. "You're still really cute even today." he then nuzzled into Zim even more, turning over so he was resting on his back now and staring up at Zim from an upside down position.

Zim pouted. "Zim is not cute." he puffed his cheeks out stubbornly.

Dib smiled teasingly at Zim. "Yes you are! You're extremely cute! You've got really really cute antennas, and your eyes kind of remind me of jellybeans. Oh! And your skin is flawless when compared to human skin." he began listing off all the things he found cute about Zim, nuzzling a cheek to the Irken's soft, green skin all the while.

Zim blushed darker. "Zim is not cute! Dib-love is cute~!" he protested before grinning and leaning in to lick one of Dib's cheeks. "Cute little antennas, soft fluffy hair, chocolate-honey eyes~" he then purred and licked his own lips. "Yummy." he smiled goofily at Dib as though to tease him with a dose of his own medicine.

Dib flushed a light pink at Zim's words before looking away and pouting a bit himself. "Sounds more like you're describing something sweet you want to eat..." he said under his breath before glancing back at Zim shyly. "You're still cute though..." he then said before flushing a slightly darker color. "And our smeets will look just like you." he said with an affirmative nod as though their appearances were already set in stone.

Zim grinned at Dib's reaction. "Who said I didn't want to eat you?" he licked him again. "You're delicious." he teased before then pouting again at Dib's last few words. "Why would you want them to look like me?" he asked, not understanding why Dib seemed to have his heart so heavily set on their smeets looking like him.

Dib flailed at Zim at the lick and tried to pull away. "Nnnyeh..." he whined, having trouble rolling back over onto his stomach thanks to how big it had gotten. "Because you ARE really cute, and I want them to be as cute as you are. Isn't that reason enough? I mean, don't YOU want them to resemble you even just a little bit?" he then asked, finding it strange that the once so egotistical Irken seemed to have little interest in his own smeets looking like him.

"Well yes…If they ended up resembling someone else, I'd be a little suspicious."

Dib glared at Zim for that comment, his antennae falling back. "I'M not the one who remembers having sex when I got pregnant, Zim!" he snapped, not finding Zim's words nearly as amusing as the Irken meant them to be.

Zim flinched. "I was only kidding..." he said before coughing into a hand awkwardly.

Dib continued to glare at Zim for a few moments longer before dropping his gaze away to the covers and exhaling slowly. "Y-Yeah...S-Sorry about that..." he apologized, closing his eyes and collecting himself again, not wanting to ruin this moment.

Zim's antennas drooped. "Are you okay?" he asked, sensing a change in Dib's mood.

"I'm...fine." Dib said, returning his head to rest on Zim's chest. "Are you...excited about having them...?" he then asked out of the blue.

Zim looked a little shocked at the sudden question before looking away. "I'm...nervous...Maybe excited..." he gripped Dib tighter. "And worried..." he admitted, having been doing his best this entire time to hide his initial emotions about the pregnancy.

"You said...You said that every Irken dreams of having smeets of their own someday...A-And that you were just lucky...B-But...But did you ever consider what things would be like if you ever had your own smeets...Ever think that it might happen someday? And I mean before you met me or even came to Earth..." Dib asked, curious about what Zim's thoughts about smeets were before any of this even happened.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 142. =3 Until next time~


	138. Chapter 143

A/N: Happy Mother's Day, you guys~ =3 Hope you enjoy this Mother's Day upload. And also, please do remember to send lots of love to your mothers today. After all, if it weren't for them, you wouldn't be here to begin with.

ZADR Orange Chapter 143

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Blushing at Dib's question, Zim looked away before answering. "Yes..." he smiled a little. "There were lots of places I thought I would take them if I ever had them…But after joining invader training, I didn't get much time to think about that." he then said, trying to remember what things had been like before his main training had begun.

"But you have time now...You have all the time in the world to take them wherever you'd like..." Dib smiled, taking Zim's hand and squeezing it. "And soon...You'll have the smeets you used to think about." he then said, pressing the others hand to his swollen belly where one of the smeets was moving.

Zim's eyes widened and he smiled slowly as he realized what this meant. Grinning, he then pulled Dib closer. "All thanks to you." he said, leaning in to press a kiss to Dib's lips.

Dib got comfortable against Zim, yawning somewhat tiredly. "Tell me about what else you used to think about doing with them if you ever had any…Tell me...how you would have raised them..." he said, blinking his eyes partway closed.

Zim smiled, twirling his fingers through Dib's hair. "I'd play with them and keep them safe, take them to all the funnest vacationing planets and the best places to eat on Foodcourtia...I never really thought much about actually raising them, just about having them around..." he admitted, a part of him having never thought the day would come when he would actually be planning for the arrival of his own smeets.

Dib smiled before giggling a bit to himself. "So in other words, you would have spoiled them." he reached up a hand to poke one of Zim's antennas playfully. "But at least that's better than neglecting them. What's going to be the first thing you do with them after they're born? I mean...Do you think things will be any different because you're on Earth? Or do Irkens raise their young anything like humans do?" he then asked, rather curious as to how Zim might react to their arrival.

Zim shrugged. "I'm not sure…We still have my Voot to go into space if we wanted to..." he said, having honestly not given it as much thought as he would have expected himself to in this situation.

"That could be fun. What do you think they'll look like? I mean...We know they'll look like us, but do you think they'll be identical?"

"Mmm…Maybe two of them will be…But I've never heard of identical triplets."

"I know it's possible. I've seen it on TV before. But I guess it really does depend on whether all three are the same gender or not. Should we have something worked out to tell them all apart just in case?"

Zim bit his lip and sighed. "I hope there's a male..." he said in a rather quiet voice.

"Does that mean you don't want any females? Or will you still be happy just so long as we at least have one male one?" Dib asked, poking at the tip of one of Zim's antennas playfully again just to watch it twitch in reaction.

Zim smiled. "I just want a boy, at least one, anyways. The others can be females if you want." he said, having always imagined himself raising male smeets for some reason.

"All I want is for our smeets to be healthy. That's all. I'll be happy with whatever gender we get. Though, to be perfectly honest, I'd love to see how you'd react to having at least one girl." Dib smiled at the thought of Zim being one of those overprotective fathers who wouldn't let anyone near his daughter.

Zim sent him a funny look. "And what is that supposed to mean?" he asked, not knowing what Dib seemed to find so amusing about him having a female smeet.

"Weeell...Y-You know how some fathers can be overprotective of their daughters? E-Especially when they get to that age where they start dating and stuff? I-I was just curious as to whether you'd act in the same way...I mean...You don't seem to do all that well around females to begin with..."

Not really understanding half of what Dib just said, having grown up on a different planet and all that, Zim looked confused.

"Ehh...Never mind…" Dib said when all he received from Zim was a confused look. "I just...want to know you won't favor one smeet over another just because of gender differences." he then said, hoping that wasn't what Zim was getting at with his desire for a boy.

"Of course not!"

"Do you think...we'd be able to handle a female if we had one? I mean...We don't exactly have that more feminine touch that a real mother would have..."

"Uh…" Zim shrugged. "I have no idea." he then said, having not had much experience with human females in the past or their mothering techniques.

Dib sighed. "I hope we don't screw up..." he said, starting to feel nervous about things all over again.

Zim smiled a little nervously himself. "So do I..." he said, understanding how Dib must be feeling about things at this point.

No longer in such a good mood, Dib's antennas drooped as he pulled his knees up to his chest to hide his face in.

"Dib?" Zim held him close. "Are you okay?" he then asked, able to sense the others change in mood again.

"...Maybe we're not ready for this..."

Zim's antennas drooped. "Well…It's too late for that now..." he said, knowing that having doubts about their situation wouldn't help anything in the long run.

Dib could only curl in on himself even more at that. "...I don't want them to hate us..." his voice cracked a bit.

"Oh Dib." Zim hugged him tightly. "They won't. It'll be fine. They'll love you. You're perfect." he then tried to reassure the hybrid of that.

Dib could only shake his head at those words however. "No...I'm not...I don't even know the first thing about taking care of them, whether boy or girl." he said, honestly having no idea what to even expect once they got there.

"We'll learn…We have those books, and we have Rose and Jack…"

"But I feel like they deserve so much better! Why should they have to put up with us stumbling through the first few years of their life?! Especially if we have girls that neither of us even know the first thing about?! It wouldn't be fair to put them through that! It would be just like when my mom first died...I remember what a hard time Gaz had adjusting to a household with only males in it..."

Zim's antennas drooped more. "Dib...I…I don't know..." he closed his eyes and pulled away a little, rubbing at his face. "We have Rose...and Jack…and..." he couldn't think of what more to say. It just seemed everyone who could help them had a family of their own about to be made already.

"And nothing! They've already got their own baby on the way! And so do Tak and Gaz!"

"I-I know…I just…" Zim sighed. "We are going to have to do this on our own, aren't we?" he then said, the pressure suddenly beginning to weigh heavier than before on him.

"...I'm not even sure if we can..." Dib breathed in shakily and brought a shaking hand up to place on his belly where one of the smeets had begun kicking again. "I'm not ready for this, Zim...They're going to hate me. I just know it. Because I just can never do anything right." he then said, a small panic attack beginning to creep up on him.

"No, Dib! Don't say that! You do everything right! It's everyone else who screws up!" Zim snapped, not wanting Dib to begin doubting himself when he was trying so hard already to do everything right for their smeets.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 143. =3 Until next time~


	139. Chapter 144

ZADR Orange Chapter 144

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Too far lost to be calmed by Zim's words in that moment, Dib sent the Irken an all too doubtful look before breathing out shakily. "Then why is this so hard...?" he returned his face to his arms, huddling in on himself in the bed.

"I wouldn't imagine it being easy, Dib..."

"But at least you've imagined it. You've imagined them and what you'd plan on doing with them someday. But me...I CAN'T seem to imagine it, ANYTHING about all this. I don't even know what I'd do with three smeets when they get here."

"Then you won't be disappointed if they can't do what you imagined!"

"But I could never be disappointed in them! Never! I want them to do whatever will make them happiest!"

Zim kissed him suddenly to shut him up before pulling away slowly. "And that's why you're perfect...Most parents want their kids to do what they imagined they would do…You won't." he said with a small reassuring smile to the other.

"Most parents...want what's best for their kids...But I...I don't even know what would be best for them..."

"You'll love them though…and keep them fed and clothed…That's all they really need."

"But what they deserve is so much more than what I can give them...I don't know what would be best for them...I don't even know what's best for myself..."

Zim sighed. "Stop worrying so much, Dib. It'll be okay." he tried to assure the other of that, knowing Dib was just getting worked up over nothing now.

"Easy for you to say...The way you treat them...How you plan to spoil them so much...Of course they'll love you...They'll love you a whole lot..."

Zim sighed again. "Dib..." he said with a small whine.

Dib pulled away from Zim however. "No, Zim! You just don't get it, do you?! You have no idea how much harder this is for me! I'm not ready for ANY of this! I'm 16 for crying out loud! I'm still just a kid! And I didn't ask for any of this! I'm not even out of high school yet! There's a reason why most people wait until they're adults to have kids!" he exploded on the other before he could stop himself, certain that nobody could understand any of what he was going through.

Zim looked hurt. "I-I'm sorry…I-I didn't mean for this to happen..." he said, suddenly feeling guilty all over again for everything.

"...Neither did I..." Dib pulled his knees up to his chest to cry into.

Zim looked at the hybrid terribly hurt now. "I-I'm sorry..." he pulled away a bit more and rolled over onto his other side. "W-We should sleep…" he then said, not wanting to stay awake to discuss this any further.

Crying for a while longer, Dib just remained sitting where he was before finally curling up in his spot and crying himself to sleep.

Waiting until Dib was fast asleep, Zim then rolled back over and cuddled up to him from behind, holding him close as a small comfort to both himself and the hybrid.

One of his wet cheeks finding Zim's chest to rest on, Dib sniffled wetly in his sleep before eventually calming into an undisturbed slumber.

It wasn't until at least a few hours later that Dib awoke yet again to find Zim curled around him protectively, fast asleep. Sitting up in the bed and staring down at him for a moment, Dib then gently moved his arm away from him to get up and use the bathroom before pulling on some pants and heading on back upstairs alone, not wanting to wake Zim up.

Mumbling at the loss of Dib, Zim merely balled back up and fell into a deep sleep after failing to locate Dib in the bed with him.

Dib took the elevator up to the kitchen, surprised to see Jack and Rose sitting at the table with Purple when the doors finally opened back up. "What? What are you guys doing here?" he asked upon exiting the elevator.

Rose looked up from the cup of coffee she was drinking to Dib. "Oh, Dib, we didn't even hear you coming up." she stood up to make her way over to him and take him by the arm, leading him to the table to take a seat down next to her. "We were just waiting for either you or Zim to come on up. We bought you a few things while we were out." she then said, gesturing to some groceries on the counter.

"B-But how long have you been here?"

"Oh, just a few minutes really. We got a little side-tracked and took a bit longer than we meant to shopping."

"O-Oh...Th-Thank you..."

"So, where is Zim?"

"Zim...? H-He's sleeping...downstairs..." Dib's antennae drooped. "I yelled at him again…"he then sighed, feeling horrible about everything he'd said earlier.

Rose sighed herself and hugged Dib lightly. "Oh Dib, I'm sure it's okay." she said in an attempt to make him feel better.

Jack nodded in agreement. "What happened to make you yell?" he asked, thinking perhaps it was something they could help the two with.

Dib whined, tugging at his antennas. "Ooooh...Nothing, really...I was just being an asshole again..." he said, hating himself for always getting so mad at Zim when he knew the other was only trying to help.

Jack laughed a little at that response. "I doubt that. You're not an 'asshole' kind of person." he said, having never seen such a side to Dib himself.

"I am when Zim and I are alone. I practically blamed him for this entire situation even though I know it's not his fault."

Rose smiled. "That's perfectly natural, Dib. Why, when I was pregnant the first time, EVERYTHING was Jack's fault." she said in an amusing tone of voice.

Jack laughed again. "It still is." he said before returning back to his own coffee.

"As it should be." Rose shoved him a little playfully.

"But I said it in the worst possible way. You should have just seen the look on his face, and all because I'm just not ready for this. He told me, down there, that a long time ago, he used to think about what he'd do if he ever had smeets, where he'd take them and stuff. But me...I don't even know how we're going to raise them."

Rose sighed and shook her head at those words. "It will all work out, Dib. Don't worry. We're all here to support you, Zim especially." she reminded him, wanting him to know he wasn't alone in all this.

"I just...I just wish everything would go back to the way it was before all of this happened..." Dib hugged his knees to his chest. "I cause you all so much trouble and then I get so mad about it..." he then sighed, feeling pretty useless right then.

"It's just a hormone imbalance, Dib. None of us will take it personally. I know what you're going through."

"But it's still not right!" Dib slammed his hands down on the table, his eyes wet. "I shouldn't be acting in this way! Hormonal imbalance or not! You're pregnant too, but I never see you lose it! Not even a little! So what's wrong with me?! Why can't I control my emotions any better?! Even when I want to, I can't! And I'm constantly hurting Zim because of it!" his hands began to shake unsteadily. "I can't even do the simplest of things without blowing up on him for something..." his voice then began to shake, unable to help himself in that moment.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 144. =3 Until next time~


	140. Chapter 145

ZADR Orange Chapter 145

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Delicately standing up at Dib's abrupt outburst, Rose approached the hybrid cautiously before pulling him into a tight hug. "You're sixteen, Dib. Your hormones are out of whack already. The added hormones from your pregnancy are throwing everything else for a loop. Plus this is the first time you've been pregnant, and don't forget, I'm a lot further along than you are." she reminded him, not wanting him to feel like any of this was his fault.

Dib could only hide his face further into Rose's shirt, trying to find at least a little bit of comfort there as he clung to her and sobbed lightly to himself. "...Why does this have to be so hard...?" he whimpered out in a still shaky voice.

"That's just how it is, dear."

"Then why did it have to happen to me of all people?! Isn't my life hard enough...? Don't I already have enough shit to deal with...?"

Rose sighed. "I'm sorry, Dib…And I'm sure Zim is sorry too...But there isn't really anyway out of this…Unless you abort..." she said, not exactly a fan of the idea herself but understanding how the pros of such a decision could benefit Dib were he to ever decide he wanted to do that instead.

"No! I would never do that! I'm not a murderer! I-I'm not...It goes against everything I stand for...I could never...E-Even if I'd be risking my own life..."

Rose held him close, swaying a little. "Then you'll have to just deal with it, Dib...It's not as bad as it seems. And it will all be worth it. Trust me." she tried to reassure him that the end result of his pregnancy would be rewarding no matter what happened.

"...I hope so..." Dib closed his eyes tiredly and swayed a little unsteadily.

"Maybe you should go back to bed, Dib. You look tired."

"I don't...I don't want to disturb Zim though..." Dib's voice came out in a tired whisper, a yawn escaping him.

"Oh, I doubt he'll be disturbed, Dib. Go on and get some rest."

"...Okay..." Dib finally agreed tiredly though he didn't feel like pulling away at first.

Jack stood up from his chair to take Dib from Rose. "Come on, Dib." he led Dib over towards the elevator to take him back down to the bedroom. Turning towards Rose, he then headed on in with Dib. "I'll be right back. Go ahead and start unloading those groceries and then I'll help you finish once I've gotten him back into bed." he said, thinking it best they finish up there and leave soon.

Nodding as Jack headed into the elevator with Dib, Rose then proceeded to do as she was told as Jack took Dib down to the lower level of the base.

Meanwhile, Zim was beginning to get fidgety without Dib there in the bed with him, tossing and turning before soon enough he awoke with a gasp. "D-Dib?" he sat up when he realized the other wasn't there with him.

An arm wrapped around Dib as he led the boy inside, Jack slowly pushed open the door to the bedroom before stopping when he saw Zim sitting up in bed.

Dib looked up as well, his eyelids drooping a bit. "Z-Zim...?" he said the others name quietly as it was taking everything in him to just stay awake and standing.

Zim looked up at Dib. "DIB!" he hopped out of the bed, not caring that he was half naked and messy as he ran to the hybrid's side. "Are you okay?" he then asked once he had taken hold of Dib.

Jack's eyes grew wide at the half-naked sight of Zim before he slapped a hand over his eyes and blushed, pushing Dib lightly towards Zim while keeping one hand placed firmly on his shoulder to help keep him balanced. "U-Umm, Zim, I think you might want to get some clothes on before I go blind here." he said, a part of him unable to help but imagine what the two of them must have been doing before they arrived there.

Merely leaning up against Zim, Dib rested all of his weight on the other.

"And he's fine. Just a little bit tired is all."

Zim pouted at the clothing comment but held Dib tightly nonetheless. "Good." he nuzzled Dib before kissing him. "Still tired, Dib-love?" he then asked upon realizing how out of it the boy looked to be in that moment.

"I can't...keep my eyes open..." Dib finally let his eyelids slip all the way closed as he slumped against Zim even more.

"I just brought him down to get some sleep. He was afraid he might disturb you."

Zim smiled and held Dib close, supporting most of his weight so he could relax. "You could never disturb me, Dib-love~" he said, finding it cute that Dib had been worried about such a thing.

"I'm sorry...about yelling at you earlier..." Dib apologized, having wanted to say that since practically the second he had yelled at Zim. "I'm sorry...I'm so bad at this..." he then added, feeling as though all he was doing was causing Zim more stress than was necessary.

Zim smiled and kissed him again. "It's okay. I forgive you…And I'm sorry too…I was bothering you." he said, feeling like it was partly his fault Dib had gotten so upset with him.

"You weren't bothering me...I was just so...frustrated...with myself...with the world in general..."

Zim nuzzled him. "It happens sometimes." he said in a small whisper, knowing already that a lot of what Dib had said was just the result of built up anxiety over his situation.

"Feels like most of the time to me..." Dib sighed, pressing into Zim even more. "But now I'm just tired...And I want to sleep..." his antennae fell back to rest more comfortably against his head.

Zim smiled. "So am I. Come on." he led Dib back to the bed with him and pulled the hybrid's pants off so he'd be more comfortable. "Let's get some rest." he then urged the other to get back into the bed so he could pull the covers up over the both of them.

"Well, I guess I'll let you two get some sleep now so I can get back to Rose and help her unload those groceries." Jack said before turning to leave.

Dib called back after Jack once he was under the covers and tucked into the bed. "Thank you, Jack..." he thanked the other before he could leave the room completely.

Jack smiled back at him. "No problem, Dib." he said before closing the door behind himself quietly.

Zim smiled as Jack left before then cuddling up with Dib. "They're really nice..." he slurred a bit as he also was feeling rather tired still.

Dib closed his eyes tiredly. "I know..." he shifted over onto his side so he could face Zim now before opening his eyes partway again. "And you're really nice too..." he brought one of Zim's hands up to press against his cheek. "I just wish...I could do something nice for all of you too..." he then said, wanting to make it up to all of them for staying with him throughout this entire ordeal.

"Just being here is good enough for Zim."

Eyes wet, Dib could only close his eyes as he nuzzled the Irken's hand closer. "But I WANT to do something nice for you all...I don't want to feel useless...like I can't do anything just because I'm pregnant...I can't even keep myself awake half the time..." he wiped his eyes on Zim's hand.

Zim sighed and pulled him in close, kissing him deeply. "Just don't leave me, okay?" he said, not wanting anything else from Dib aside from his company.

Dib shifted his gaze up to look at Zim, cheeks a light pink color now. "I won't if you won't..." he said before scooting in even closer to the Irken to let him know he meant that.

Zim smiled. "And I never will." he promised, not even able to imagine what his life would be like without Dib now.

"...Okay..." Dib shifted his gaze away now, his antennae twitching slightly on his head. Then, after a few minutes of silence, he spoke up again "...My body is sore..." he said, their lovemaking from earlier finally beginning to take its toll on his body.

Zim giggled a little. "I would expect so. We should sleep." he said, certain the pain Dib felt in his body couldn't be too far off from the pain he felt in his own in that moment.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 145. =3 Until next time~


	141. Chapter 146

ZADR Orange Chapter 146

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Nodding his head in agreement when Zim suggested they get some sleep, Dib curled up around himself before resting his head against the Irken comfortably, trying to ignore the achiness currently present in his lower body.

Zim stroked his hair and antennas before closing his own eyes and holding him close. "Sleep tight, Dib." he said in a quiet whisper before leaning in to kiss him gently on the head.

"You...too..." Dib murmured before slipping back to sleep for the next couple of hours, his antennae curling back at the small touches they were receiving from Zim.

Not budging for the longest time, Zim then fell asleep soon after.

It wasn't until about 2 or 3 hours later that Dib awoke yet again to a quiet bedroom, Zim wrapped about his middle protectively as he slept. "Mmm..." he didn't move save for bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes, his head moving from one side to the other as he had a look around the dark bedroom. "...We really do need to install a window down here..." he then murmured to himself, having no idea what time it was any longer or whether it was still even day out or not.

Mumbling in his sleep, Zim then smiled before snuggling closer to Dib.

Bringing his gaze back down to watch Zim sleep for a few moments, Dib then hesitantly brought a hand up to poke at the tip of one of Zim's antennae. He snickered to himself when the sensitive appendage responded by twitching before springing back into place, hitting Zim's face first before settling again.

Pouting in his sleep at the teasing, Zim grumbled a little but didn't wake up.

Smiling wide at Zim's reaction, his tongue poking out from between his teeth, Dib considered leaning in to poke the appendage again, only this time with the tip of his tongue.

Shuddering as Dib leaned in, Zim then moaned a little in his sleep, as though he could sense what the other was planning despite not being awake.

Pulling away just before he was about to poke the antenna, Dib blinked at the way Zim shuddered. The other must have sensed what he had been planning on doing. So pulling his tongue back into his mouth, he rather shifted slightly to a more comfortable position, pulling the covers up over his head instead.

Mumbling at the bit of movement, Zim then rolled over facing away from Dib before scooting in closer to the hybrid, his lower half cold now from the loss of contact the other had been giving him prior to waking up.

Catching a good view of Zim's perky bottom from underneath the covers, Dib blushed before crawling out from underneath them again to look at Zim who had changed positions.

Butt up against Dib, Zim was purring contently now.

Shifting yet again in an attempt to gain back some of his personal space, Dib could only blush a darker red color when Zim's backside pressed up against him. To say the very least, Zim's bottom was quite a sight to behold, tight, firm, and enticing to whomever was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it.

Wanting to be near him, Zim whined when Dib moved away again before scooting closer yet again.

Not trusting himself to not grasp Zim's bottom in his hands, those round, smooth cheeks tempting him as the Irken's skin was literally as soft as a baby's bottom, Dib tried to wriggle away from Zim one last time.

His exposed bottom getting cold without Dib, Zim pouted and scooted closer still.

Dib tried to scoot away again but found himself toppling off the edge of the bed when Zim moved closer still. "Ah!" he landed flat on his back. "Oooowww..." he groaned. As if his back didn't hurt enough already carrying around all the extra weight. He sat up slowly, rubbing it near the base of his tailbone. "That hurt..." he then blinked his eyes wide open when he realized he was still naked and just about toppled back over onto his back again when he tried to tug the blanket over himself.

"Meh?" Zim opened his eyes, being woken up by the noise of Dib falling off the bed. "Dib?" he yawned. "What are you doing?" he then asked, curious as to why the other was on the floor all of a sudden.

Flustered, Dib held the blanket close to himself. "Nothing...Just...Undressing to go and take a bath! Yeah...That's what I'm doing..." he looked away, blushing.

"Oh..." Zim sat up in the bed. "Can I join you?" he then asked, thinking a bath sounded pretty good right then after all the activities they'd partaken in several hours earlier.

Dib could only blink up at Zim, his cheeks flushing a bright pink. "Well, I...Umm...Yeah…" he gave in before looking away shyly. "I guess if you really want to..." he then took to hugging the blanket tighter. Watching the Irken stand up from his spot on the bed, Dib then suddenly regretted agreeing to allow Zim to bathe with him as his eyes instantly locked back onto the Irken's bottom.

Zim didn't notice however as he got up out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. "You coming?" he asked only after he had reached the threshold to the bedroom door.

His mind less than clean in that moment, Dib blushed at the others words and bit his lower lip, staring down at the ground as he nodded. Then, standing up slowly from his spot on the ground, he slowly followed Zim down the hall to the bathroom, keeping the blanket wrapped about himself for the time being.

Giving Dib an odd look when he followed behind him with the blanket still wrapped about him, Zim then shook his head before letting Dib do whatever he wanted, not wanting to bother him with questions.

Standing back in the doorway to the bathroom as Zim started up the gel bath before undressing completely, setting the frog shirt aside for the time being before looking back at Dib expectantly, Dib blushed at the look he received before turning away subconsciously and slowly letting the blanket drop so he could pull his shirt off, keeping his back to Zim all the while as he struggled to pull off the bunny shirt by the ears, his belly getting in the way considerably.

Zim smiled and came up behind him. "Need some help?" he asked, reaching around him to clutch at the rim of Dib's shirt.

Dib jumped a bit at Zim coming up behind him but otherwise didn't protest, nodding his head slowly and lifting his arms up, allowing the Irken to pull the shirt up and over his head before setting it to the side next to his frog shirt. Then, out of habit more than anything else, he went to grab a towel to wrap himself in, or at least wrap himself in as best he could, the task becoming harder to do now with his ever extending belly. "Th-Thank you..." he played with his fingers shyly.

Smiling, Zim took the towel from him before pulling him in close to kiss deeply on the lips.

"Mmm!" Dib's eyes grew wide at the sudden kiss before falling half lidded. "Mmm~" he then kissed back gently, sighing out contently once Zim had broken the kiss. "I think...the tub is full now..." he pointed out, seeming to forget all his previous embarrassment as he leaned in against Zim comfortably, no longer caring that the both of them were naked.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 146. =3 Until next time~


	142. Chapter 147

ZADR Orange Chapter 147

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Smiling when Dib seemed to relax finally, Zim broke the kiss at the hybrid's words before helping him over to the tub, turning off the gel before helping Dib into it, himself following soon after him.

Once in the tub, Dib waited for Zim to get in as well before reclining back in it, part of his belly poking out through the surface. "I'm getting so...big..." he poked his belly, causing one of the smeets to shift inside of him, a flutter of movement beneath his skin.

Zim smiled and nuzzled him, resting a hand on his belly. "That's good though." he said, happy that their development seemed to be on track thus far.

Dib looked up at Zim. "You never told me why you wanted a boy so badly. Is it because you were planning on doing something with a boy that you can't do with a girl?" he asked, curious now about why Zim kept insisting upon wanting their smeets to be male.

Zim shrugged. "I…just find it easier to deal with males than females…Females are scary..." he shuddered, thinking back to all the past encounters he'd had with those of the opposite sex.

"But Rose is a female, and she's not scary..." Dib brought down both of his hands now to place on his belly. "Are you afraid that I might give birth to a female? I'm not exactly the one responsible here for the sex of the babies. The father is. The mother only carries half of their genetic code though. The father's the one who contributes the other half that determines the sex of the baby." he said, recalling that information from their past sex ed class at school.

Zim bit his lip at the question and nodded his head a little. "I'm afraid they might end up like some of the Irken females I've met in the past..." he said, knowing from experience how violent the females of his species could get at times.

"Are...females on your planet born bad or something? Would you completely hate it if I gave birth to females...?"

"Well, no…And definitely not. I'll love them no matter what the gender... Females are rare to begin with on Irk though, so they end up being pretty violent like Tak is...But I'm not sure if that's inherited or built-in as they grow..."

"So...All the females you've ever met on your planet are violent? And you've never met a non-violent one?"

"Well, I've only ever met two..."

"You've only met two Irken females in your entire life?! Then who was the other female? And are they really THAT rare? I mean...To think you've only ever met only two females of your own species..."

"Well, I am an invader, Dib. I never really meshed with the rest of society a lot...It was Tak and Tenn."

After a moment, Dib looked back down at his stomach, running his hands soothingly over the surface of his skin. "...Then you can't make any assumptions about these smeets...If any of them are female, you can't just assume that they'll grow up violent...Just because the two females you met were violent, that doesn't mean ours will be if we have any..." he said with a confident nod that that wouldn't be the case.

"I know...I'm just worried they will be though…I'm not exactly the easiest person to get along with either…What if they end up like me?"

Reaching up his hands to cup Zim's face, Dib pulled the other forward to kiss gently on the lips. "You're not THAT bad, Zim. They'll be fine, even if they do end up like you...Being like you isn't a bad thing. After all, you're the one I fell in love with..." he kissed Zim again to emphasize his point.

Blushing and holding Dib's hand up against his face, Zim smiled a little at those words.

"Besides...I thought you would have WANTED them to inherit some of your almighty Zimness." Dib laughed, licking the Irken's lips playfully.

Pouting at the others teasing, Zim blushed, embarrassed. "Well…Perhaps Zim's Zimminess should not pass on." he said before folding his arms and looking the other way.

"And why not? Don't you like yourself? I mean, you're smart, you're strong, and...You're really sweet." Dib kissed Zim's cheek gently.

Grinning, Zim hugged Dib tightly. "You feed Zim's ego too much." he said though didn't necessarily complain about it.

"But it's true! If our smeets turned out anything like you, I'd be really happy! Or maybe each one will inherit at least one of those traits I mentioned from you..."

Sighing, Zim smiled and nuzzled Dib. "And what about you?" he asked, really preferring the smeets took more after Dib than they did himself.

"Hmm?" Dib blinked up at Zim almost blankly. "Me? Well, I umm...I guess there's a chance they might get my...umm...hair...?" he tried to think of what they might inherit from him, though he honestly didn't know.

Zim laughed a little. "Maybe your sheepishness? Or your stick-to-it-iveness."

Dib blushed at Zim's words before pouting a bit. "What's that supposed to mean? Those don't sound like very good traits. And what do you mean by 'stick-to-it-iveness?'" he wasn't sure whether he liked the sound of that as he puffed out his cheeks a bit more.

"Well, you don't give up very easily, Dib. You'll stick with something till the job is done."

"Or at least until I fall in love with the thing I'm trying to prove exists..." Dib sighed, looking away. "You...were my entire life from the time I was eleven...I couldn't just give up on you...Even if I had wanted to, I wouldn't have been able to..." he then said, having been too obsessed with the other back then to ever stop in his quest of exposing the other.

Zim smiled and kissed him. "I'm glad you didn't." he spoke against the others lips before pulling away with a small smirk on his face.

"I-I'm glad I didn't too..." Dib closed his eyes at the kiss, blushing as he opened them once again to look at the Irken. "But you're the same way...You don't just give up because somebody tells you you can't do something. You keep trying and trying until you succeed." he dropped his gaze back down to his belly, his eyelids slipping halfway closed. "That's a trait I'd like our smeets to have...Of course, they'd always have our support in anything they do..." he said as he lifted his eyes back up to gaze at Zim.

Zim smiled and nuzzled him, shifting in the warm goo. "Yes..." he agreed with a nod, just wanting their smeets to be happy and healthy.

"...And maybe...They'll do great things..." Dib sighed out dreamily, leaning down to rest a cheek against his belly, a flutter of movement his reward.

Wanting to feel the smeets move, Zim smiled and nuzzled his belly as well.

"They sure do kick a lot. Or maybe it's just one of them. I can't really tell, but there always seems to be at least one of them moving around. Do you think it's because they're uncomfortable in there?" Dib asked, poking at his belly.

"Well, there are three of them crammed in there. But then again, maybe they are just really active."

"I just hope they're not kicking this much on the way out." Dib smoothed his hand over his belly, more than a little bit nervous about the upcoming delivery.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 147. =3 Until next time~


	143. Chapter 148

ZADR Orange Chapter 148

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Laughing nervously at Dib's last few words to him, Zim reached over a hand to place over the hybrid's own as he stroked his belly soothingly. "Yeah…So do I." he said, rather nervous about how the delivery would go himself despite everything they'd done to prepare.

"I'm sure they'll be much happier and kick a lot less once they're out in the real world and not trapped in such a cramped area."

Zim nuzzled him. "You never know. I bet it's nice and warm and cozy in there~" he said before leaning himself forward slightly to kiss Dib's baby bump affectionately.

Dib blushed a bit at Zim's words. "Maybe...But I still think they'll be happier once they're out of me and can stretch out their bodies a bit more. After all, there ARE three of them in there. I don't think I'd enjoy being in such an enclosed space with two other people. And I know I'LL be a whole lot more comfortable once they're outside of me." he said, a part of him wishing he could just get it over with now rather than having to wait another few months for it to happen.

Zim laughed loudly and hugged Dib close. "We all know you will be, Dibbers~" he said in an amused voice, Dib having made it more than crystal clear how he felt about being pregnant.

"Hey! You try carrying around three extra bodies in YOUR abdomen for 9 months and we'll see how much you like it." Dib pouted, not finding the situation to be all that funny.

Zim nuzzled him. "Maybe when these guys are older." he said, stroking a hand over Dib's belly once again.

Blinking wide, disbelieving eyes up at Zim, Dib blushed a bright red at Zim's words. Was the other being serious?! "I-I think we'll have enough to deal with with just the three of them..." he looked away uneasily.

"Yeah." Zim sighed. "This is going to be some fun, huh?" he sent the other a rather nervous smile.

"I hope so...It will be after they're born at least..." Dib stared down at the bulge in his stomach.

Feeling stressed out already, Zim nodded before sighing and sinking further down into the goo. "Let's just enjoy the peace while we have it..." he said, a part of him not wanting to think about how little time they'd have to themselves after the smeets were born.

Sinking down more into the gel as well, Dib fell silent at Zim's words. "...Are you having doubts...?" he finally asked after several long moments of silence.

"No...Just worried about how much time we'll have to be just the two of us once they get here... I don't think we'll have much if any."

"But you'll still be happy, right? I mean...It might be that way for the first few years...At least until they start going to school...But you'll still be happy, at least being able to take care of them together...It won't be just the two of us, but we won't be spending any less time together if you think about it..."

Zim nuzzled Dib. "I know, I know. Relax, Dib. I don't regret any of this." he reassured the other to put his mind at ease.

"This is why I wanted us to make love so many times before, so that we really WON'T regret it when they get here...I want to make every last moment with you mean something...I want...I want US to be really happy together, whether we have smeets or not..."

Zim nodded and leaned against him. "…You know...We could do it now..." he offered, sending the other a small, suggestive look.

Dib blushed slightly at the suggestion. "I-I thought you didn't want to do it anymore today...tonight...whatever time it is right now..." he said, really having no idea as his sense of time was all screwed up again.

Zim snuggled him. "Zim has slept on it..." he said with a smirk before moving in to kiss the other on the lips tenderly.

"And you're not feeling too sore from the last times?" Dib asked, blinking up at Zim somewhat curiously.

"I should be asking you that, Dibbers~" Zim snickered.

Dib blushed an even brighter red before looking away embarrassed. "I'm...sore...But only slightly." he admitted, refusing to meet Zim's gaze. "I guess we could...If you wanted to that is..." he then played with his fingers nervously, twisting them this way and that as he spoke.

Zim kissed him again. "Do YOU want to?" he asked, not wanting to force it on the hybrid if he wasn't feeling up to it right then.

"I want...I want YOU to decide this time..."

Smiling, Zim kissed him one last time gently before pulling back to reach into his PAK. "Actually, Dib...I have a question for you." he said as he began rummaging around for something.

"Hmm? Y-Yeah? What is i-" Dib began to say but didn't have time to finish his question as in the blink of an eye there came a sudden loud crashing noise followed by an explosion and smoke everywhere. "Wh-What the-?!" Both Zim and Dib stood up from their spots in the tub and turned towards the door to the bathroom. "Z-Zim, what's going on?!" he exclaimed, the smoke now filling the entire room and making him lose sight of the other. "Z-Zim?!" he reached out an arm in search of the other as two Irken guards suddenly marched into the smoke-filled room with masks on, armor encasing practically their entire bodies save for their eyes.

"We are here by decree of Tallest Red to arrest ex-invader Zim!"

"I'm right here, Dib!" Zim frantically began trying to find him as well but was soon grabbed and jerked out of the tub by one of the guards. He gasped at hearing the announcement. "W-Wha?! WHAT RIGHT DOES HE HAVE TO TAKE A FATHER FROM HIS SMEETS?!" he then demanded before struggling against the guard who had grabbed him.

One of the Irken guards smacked Zim for the outburst. "Do not question the almighty Tallest's decree! This is a matter of adultery amongst you, the accused, and Tallest Red's mate, Tallest Purple, which by Irken laws is punishable by confinement and death if found guilty!" the guard addressed the issue as the second guard in the room moved in to grab Dib.

"But I never did anything with Tallest Purple!" Zim exclaimed before seeing them grab Dib and gasping. "LEAVE HIM ALONE! HE HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG!" he screamed in an all too panicked voice.

The Irken guard smacked him yet again only this time harder. "Silence! That isn't the only reason we've been sent here to arrest you! You are also under arrest for treason against the Irken Empire in the form of having relations of a sexual nature with an inhabitant of an unconquered planet, harboring smeets with said inhabitant, and performing a DNA procedure deemed illegal across the universe!" he continued with his monologue of crimes Zim had committed against the Irken Empire.

Zim gasped, eyes wide. This was bad. "O-Okay, FINE! TAKE ME! BUT YOU WILL LEAVE DIB HERE!" he said again, not wanting Dib to get involved in any of this.

"NO!" Dib was by now struggling to pull away, thrashing about wildly. "I WON'T LET THEM TAKE YOU FROM ME, ZIM! I WON'T! THIS ISN'T FAIR! THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO THIS!" he screamed, trying to reach Zim who had been pulled away to the other side of the room from him.

The Irken guard holding Dib backhanded Dib across the face for all his struggling. "Shut your trap, half breed, and get down onto your knees!" he demanded before wrenching his arms behind his back painfully, forcing him to kneel.

"NO! LET HIM GO OR I SWEAR TO YOU –NONE- OF US WILL SHOW UP AT THE MASSIVE!" Zim glared at the guards threateningly and bared his teeth to show them he wasn't joking about that remark.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 148. =3 Until next time~


	144. Chapter 149

A/N: ALRIGHT! I WANT TO MAKE A FEW THINGS CLEAR BEFORE YOU ALL GO ON TO READ THIS NEXT CHAPTER!

First of all, this is the PG-13 VERSION of Chapter 149. Why PG-13, you ask? Because this chapter obviously has some content to it that is NOT appropriate for all ages. That being said however, this chapter may have some content that is not appropriate for even some of my 18+ readers also.

I have broken this chapter down as much as I physically can to get what's happening across without being too explicit about it. Therefore, if you are 18 years or older and would like to continue on to read the M-rated version of this chapter, then by all means, please feel free to look up the FA link posted inside my profile. Those of you with weaker stomachs however, I would suggest sticking to just the PG-13 version here. This chapter includes some rather violent and sexual themes to it that I don't want to scarr anybody for life with.

The M-rated version will also be available over on DA for those of you still interested. But please keep in mind that I will be providing some rather strong warnings there as well. As far as warnings are concerned, this is about as crystal clear as I can make things for you guys. Please don't ignore this A/N and then send in complaints to me through PMs and such. I get enough of that as things stand. Also, as always, you people DO need FA accounts to view the 18+ chapters there. Nothing is wrong with the site. The chapter has not been removed. So please keep that in mind when using FA to view the 18+ chapters of this story. It's not that hard to make yourselves accounts. Nor is it hard to figure out how to set the mature content filter so it is OFF when you're browsing. Just play around with your settings a bit and I'm certain you can all figure it out for yourselves.

That being said, please enjoy the following chapter. And please no hate mail either, you guys. Just because I'm writing on the topic of the following themes does NOT mean I necessarily support them. This is purely to move along the plot of this story. I strongly urge any fellow writers out there not to take such content lightly in your own writing. Sometimes people go out of their way to make fun of these sorts of topics when there's really nothing funny about them at all.

ZADR Orange Chapter 149

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Getting tired of Zim's yelling and struggling to pull away, the guard holding him pulled out a stun gun and pressed it to the very back of Zim's neck before giving him a good jolt. "Shut up, traitor!" he snarled at the threat the other had thrown at them.

Dib watched horrified as Zim's legs gave out and the other was sent to the floor lifelessly, still conscious but unable to move. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" he started struggling desperately now.

"Didn't I tell you to keep your trap shut?!" the guard holding Dib rammed the heel of his boot into the back of Dib's head and forced him down so his cheek was resting against the floor now. "Now, stay quiet or else I won't be letting you go any time soon." the Irken teasingly ran a hand down the naked boy's body, if not to make Dib feel uncomfortable then to make Zim squirm.

Dib tensed at the feel of unfamiliar hands trailing themselves down his body. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" he screamed, the hand tempting to slide lower down his body.

Zim was twitching, wanting to tear the guards limb from limb. "Dnnn tuch immm!" he said through grit teeth, his entire body so numb now that he couldn't even form proper words let alone move to help Dib.

The Irken guard holding Zim bound Zim's hands in some cuffs before making his way over to his partner, certain that the effects of the stun gun wouldn't wear off for at least a few more hours. "What's the matter, Zim? Afraid to see someone do to your 'mate' what Tallest Red claims you did to his?" he smirked cruelly as he got down onto one knee next to Dib and grabbed a bit of his hair, yanking him back up enough for Zim to take it all in.

His breathing shaking as tears streamed from his eyes, Dib twisted about helplessly as the second guard took to groping Dib also, having gotten specific orders from Tallest Red on what to do with the hybrid.

"Your 'mate' certainly does have soft skin for a hybrid, Zim." the guard said the others name with spite in his voice as he ran his finger down Dib's chest, leaving a shallow scratch mark in the process.

Making more undistinguished noises, Zim tried to move despite how heavy his body felt in that moment.

"What's the matter, Zim? Afraid your mate might LIKE IT?!" the guard raked his finger harder down the base of Dib's stomach. ""Well, don't worry. We'll try to be as GENTLE as we can." he then twisted his claws against the hybrid's skin as his hand worked its way down to between the boy's legs.

The other guard held Dib steady as his partner continued drawing his claws further down the surface of Dib's body.

Dib cried out from the pain of it all, begging them to stop. "Stop! STOP! PLEASE! IT HURTS!" he panted out breathlessly between sobs.

Paralyzed, Zim whimpered, trying to move. "Ooop! Ooop!" he begged, the sounds of Dib's distress and the fact that he couldn't help the hybrid only causing him to begin breaking down.

"P-Please! P-Please...Stop...I can't...I can't take much more of this!" Dib begged and pleaded with them to let him go, the tears coming more and more now.

"Now, why would I want to do that? After all, we're only just getting started." the guard pulled his fingers out from Dib's skin, blood dripping from them. Then, tossing Dib back down onto the ground, he positioned himself between the hybrid's legs, spreading them wide as he worked to undo the utility belt holding up his own pants. "Now, let's see what Zim finds so pleasurable about fucking a hybrid such as yourself." he said as the second guard switched positions also so he could hold Dib down by the front now and undo his own pants.

Eyes wide, Zim tried harder to move and slowly began worming his way towards them. "EE IMM OOO!" he forced out, not caring what they did to him so long as he got them off of Dib.

Noticing the movement from Zim, the guard brought down one of his spider legs to pierce through Zim's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks and drawing out a pained noise from him.

"ZIM!" Dib stared horrified at Zim from his spot across the room, wide eyes darting back and forth between the blood pouring from his wound and the Irken on top of him.

Whimpering and closing his eyes, Zim turned away from the scene. He knew Dib had no choice, but he wished he could do something to save him still. He kept his eyes averted as the two guards began to violate Dib in unimaginable ways.

Sobbing to himself as they raped him, their hands feeling him up completely and digging into his skin to draw blood, Dib whimpered out softly, not knowing what else he could do in that moment except for comply.

"Sop, sop, sop…" Zim forced out still, tears coming from his eyes even more now as he could still hear Dib's whimpering despite having turned away. He couldn't be strong with Dib in such pain.

When the two guards finally finished what they were doing with loud shouts, Zim turned back over, having gained back at least some control over his mouth again. ""Mow et im o!" he said again now that the worst of it was over.

Pulling away from Dib to zip up his pants again, the first guard then made his way over to kick Zim in the side. "Don't tell us what to do, maggot!" he said before continuing to kick the still paralyzed Irken.

"Yeah!" the second guard then stood up to join his partner, kicking Zim in the head and sides for a minute or two as Dib could only curl in on himself once he was free of the two Irkens.

"Z-Z-Zim...I-I'm s-s-sorry..." Dib whimpered between sobs, wishing the other hadn't had to watch that.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 149. =3 Until next time~


	145. Chapter 150

ZADR Orange Chapter 150

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Closing his eyes tightly, Zim whimpered at the blows from the two guards standing above him.

"I think it's time to bring this traitor in now."

"I agree. And did Tallest Red want us to bring in the half-breed as well?"

"Nahh, he said to leave him. He's got nothing to do with this."

The second guard turned to Dib. "Consider yourself lucky, half-breed." he said before turning to help his partner hoist Zim up and drag him out of the bathroom, leaving Dib curled up on the floor and staring into space, as though not conscious any longer despite his eyes still being partially open. If anything, he was in shock, his entire body in severe pain now and covered in blood.

QQQQQ

Meanwhile, back on the Massive, Red reclined back in his chair, a large grin on his face. "Looks like I finally won, Zim." he said to himself before cackling evilly.

"Sir, we have just received word from the two Irken guards sent to arrest ex-invader Zim. They say they have apprehended him and are on their way back to the Massive as we speak."

"Good...Very good..."

QQQQQ

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Dib laid curled up on the bathroom floor for 5 minutes then 10 then 15 then 20 before finally shifting his dazed gaze over to where they had had Zim bound up when they forced him to watch as they raped him. "Z-Zim..." he could still see the Irken, lying flat on his stomach with his wrists tied behind his back. Eyes widening a bit more after another 5 minutes of just staring, it was only then that he realized they had gone. "Z-Zim..." he said again, his breathing growing heavy as he couldn't move but knew he had to. He had to get dressed, had to go after them, had to figure out some way of saving Zim before something bad happened to him. His fingers twitched, the only part of his body that could move at the moment as he closed his eyes and tried to will his arms to move, though they felt like noodles that would collapse under his weight. By some miracle however, he, after a minute or two, finally managed to push himself up enough to sit. "Zim..." he said one last time to keep himself from faltering as he reached for his shirt to try and pull it on over his head.

QQQQQ

Meanwhile, Zim was silent as he was dragged on board the Massive and lugged to a room he had a feeling many Irkens had seen before. At the center of it, there hung large control brain.

Tallest Red entered the room after them, twirling a finger around one of his antennas. "Well, hello there, Zim." he said the others name with hate laced inside his voice. "It seems I've finally gotten the upper hand over you. And this time, NOBODY is going to be able to save you. Not Purple and not that fat, half-breed human you seem so fond of. By the way, did he ENJOY that little present I sent my two top guards down to give him?" he said in all too taunting a voice.

Growling at him, Zim tried to attack, only barely being held back by the two guards now that the paralyzing effects of the stun gun used on him earlier had worn off.

"No? Perhaps they weren't the right specimens. I suppose I could always send down two others to do the job right."

Zim's eyes widened. "NO! You leave him alone! Your fight is with me!" he yelled, baring his teeth threateningly as he refused to let them lay even another finger on Dib after what they had already done.

"Perhaps you should have considered that more BEFORE you went eloping with Purple back on that FILTHY planet."

"WE DIDN'T ELOPE! Maybe if you spent more time with him instead of trying to kill me he wouldn't have run off!"

Tallest Red growled before turning on Zim and slapping him hard across the face with one of his spider legs. "YOU JUST DON'T GET IT, DO YOU?! This has nothing to do with his running off! It has to do with his attraction to you! I want you to feel it! To feel the sting of having your mate look upon another with such fondness that they've never once shown to you yourself!" he narrowed his eyes on Zim before grinning cruelly again.

"HE SHOWS IT TO YOU ALL THE TIME! IF YOU WEREN'T SO CLOUDED IN HATE YOU COULD SEE IT!"

Red slapped him again. "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT HE SHOWS ME IF YOU'RE NEVER HERE?! For years, I've watched him fawn over you! YOU! Perhaps the most undeserving of all Irkens in the universe! I've watched the way his eyes always seemed to light up whenever he talked about you! Whenever you called! Whenever he received something from you in a package! It's always the same reaction! Every time!" his grin quickly fell away as he was quickly losing his patience with the other.

Wincing at those words, Zim didn't speak again, not knowing what he even COULD say.

"That's what I thought. You may think I'M the liar in this relationship, but really it's PURPLE who's been lying this entire time. Whether he has feelings for me or not doesn't matter because his feelings for you have always been stronger, whether he admits to it or not. Why else do you think he'd travel all the way down to that horrid, little planet if not to be with you?"

Zim's antennas drooped. "I don't know...I broke it off...We moved on...I…" he began to say before being interrupted.

"You moved on. Purple never did, however. And I doubt he ever will." Red's facial expression faltered, looking more hurt now than angry. "He was only using me, using me to have a smeet so he wouldn't have to be on top. Because he's never been all that dominant when it came to situations like that." he said, having known all along that Purple's feelings towards him had always been tied to their same height for the most part.

Zim's antennas fell more. "I-I'm sorry...I didn't know..." he looked away from the other.

"Of course you didn't...Like he'd ever admit any of that to you..." Red's facial expression quickly became angry yet again. "BUT IF I CAN'T HAVE HIM THEN NOBODY CAN! ESPECIALLY NOT YOU!" he said, his entire body seething with rage now, almost to the point he was shaking.

"But I don't WANT him! Why are you taking this out on ME!? You should be bringing this up with Tallest Purple!"

"What should he be bringing up with me?"

Whirling around as did the guards and Zim to stare at Purple, Red watched wide-eyed his co-ruler entered the room.

Purple scowled at Red. "I found Zim's mate in the elevator back at his base, struggling to get to Zim's ship. What did you do to him, Red?!" he demanded, having only been able to get a very little bit of information out of Dib about what had happened as the hybrid had been muttering repeatedly that he needed to get into space and save Zim, the only thing he would say at the time.

Baffled, Red then glared off to the side again. "Just got some revenge is all." he said in a quiet voice before turning away from the other, not about to let Purple ruin or stop his plans for revenge now that he had Zim well within in his grasps.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 150. =3 Until next time~


	146. Chapter 151

**-ZADR ORANGE UPDATE- PLEASE READ IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE READING THIS STORY!:**

**A/N: Alright, so it's been about a month now since my last update was posted here on FF. Some of you have been around to see the previous posts leading up to this point and some of you are just now tuning in. Regardless, this update is being written for EVERYONE currently reading "ZADR Orange" here or over on DA. So you guys best read the following update closely.**

**I'm certain you're all wondering about whether I plan on continuing this story at any point. Let me first point out to you all though that I'm not online nearly as much as I used to be. I've recently acquired a new job that I started earlier this week, one of my best friends just moved back here from England to begin attending university, and, as fate would have it (because it can be oh so cruel at times), literally EVERYBODY I know in my life has birthdays coming up between now and February. So yeah. This is the time of year I'm most active with my offline friends. Even as I type this, my friend from England's 17th birthday was this past Sunday. And even though I wasn't able to celebrate with her that night, I spent $100+ on dinner the night before so my friends and I could have a good time with her (Not that I'm complaining. I would do that for any of my close friends.) I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm busy. My time on FF will be limited over the following months, and no doubt, the majority of my free time will be spent with friends and family until the holidays are over.**

**As far as "ZADR Orange"'s fate is concerned however, let's just say things will be changing in the near future for this story. As I mentioned in my last post, one of the main reasons I stopped posting this story was because the fandom made it less than fun for me to post here/on DA. I took some time away from this story, talked it over with ~sassafrass002 on DA, and even went so far as to take a break from ALL my other works as well. I honestly considered what things would have been like had I decided never to post this or any of my other works online. Honestly, I think things would have been better off that way, getting to enjoy the works I've worked on and not having to deal with the fandom drama. It was at that point that an idea hit me. Since the fandom can be so judgmental and full of absolute shit at times, why not limit the people who can see this story? Chapter 151 is the last chapter of "ZADR Orange" that the public will ever see. Now, if people want to continue reading, they'll have to sign up on a personal mailing list for reading purposes.**

**What does that mean, you all ask. Well, for starters, anybody who WANTS to continue reading "ZADR Orange" will have to comment here on the story or in a PM to me letting me know. I'll compile an alphabetical list of usernames and send future chapter updates out through PMs/notes. This will limit the amount of trolls I get both here AND on DA by doing away with the anonymous comments feature. So YES, in order for any of you to continue reading this story, you HAVE to have an account here or over on DA. Any flames I get from readers will result in the user's account being blocked for good, which I think is MUCH better than dealing with Fanfiction's new fucked up review system.**

**As I've said many times before, if people don't like what I'm writing, then they just shouldn't read it. Unfortunately, being the shitty fandom that this is, all too many fans don't have the self-control enough to keep their opinions to themselves. For this reason, the story is not being put out in the public any longer for just anyone to read. Those of you who are serious about continuing can leave a comment here on the story or in a PM to me. Anonymous users, I'm sorry, but you'll either have to make an account if you want to continue or head on over to DA and make an account there instead. For the amount of work I put into this story, it shouldn't be asking so much that you guys put forth some effort also if you want to continue with this story.**

**Do NOT get your hopes up too high however that this means I'll be sending out 18+ chapters to just everybody. Those of you whom I know or suspect to be under 18 will receive carefully edited versions of those chapters. Just because I'm taking this story to a private medium does NOT mean I support handing out adult material to minors in private. So yeah. No complaining if a chapter comes out that you're not sent, kiddies. I know some underage users who have tried to get away with reading that material and I won't knowingly permit it here. Just be happy I'm not scrapping the story altogether. Those of you who are under 18 can wait until you're of proper age for reading such material.**

**On another note, also don't get your hopes up too high that updates will come consistently on here either. As I said above, I'm busy. If I have time to work on a chapter and I WANT to, I will. But if I'm not feeling it during a time when I have free time, you'll all just have to be patient about it. I'm doing this in an attempt to make writing this story fun for myself again. It won't be that way if it becomes a chore again like it was in the past. So please no comments/PMs asking me when I'll be continuing. Just trust me to get the updates out when I get them out. Asking for/demanding more chapters won't make me get them out any faster. In fact, doing so will probably slow me down, if anything. So please respect my personal writing pace.**

**As for the rest of my stories here or anywhere else, if I am actively writing them, I may do the same with those stories as well. At the moment however, the only other story of mine that will NOT be handled in this way is "Dib Is Sick." For the time being, Sass and I will continue to post that one as normal. I took a long break from working on it and am ready to get back to ficafying soon (since that story is already technically complete). So unless we get a wave of troll comments from people on that story, that will be the one story immune to this private mailing list method. We reserve the right to change that though should the fandom begin giving us a hard time again.**

**So there you guys have it. This story is being given one last fighting chance here. If things don't go over well however, I'll shut down this account for good and say goodbye to ever working on this story again. This is quite literally a last resort for me and no doubt it will be a while before I can build up any of my remaining motivation for it. But I'm trying, for the sake of the work I've already put in.**

**That being said, I'm off to go grab myself some breakfast and enjoy this beautiful Wednesday morning offline. I'll check back on this account later and respond to any messages I get when I get back. I think you guys get the picture now though. Or at least, I hope you all do.**

**~Pat**

ZADR Orange Chapter 151

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Gritting his teeth at Red's response back to him, Purple felt his hands shaking by his sides before balling into fists. "REVENGE FOR WHAT?! Zim and I never did anything! So tell me why you are doing this?! If it has something to do with me then just come out and say it already! Don't take this out on Zim!" he screamed back at his co-ruler, who had turned his back on him by now.

Turning to glare back at Purple, Red slammed his fist against a button on the wall, waking up the Control Brain, who spotted Zim on the judgment panel and quickly caught his PAK in its wires.

Purple's eyes grew wide. "No! Don't do this! He hasn't done anything wrong! H-He hasn't done anything wrong!" his voice shook with panic when he saw the Control Brain going to lift Zim up from the platform.

"Oh, calm down, Pur~ The Control Brain will evaluate that." Red grinned evilly.

"You bastard!" Purple ran up to Red and slapped him hard across the face.

"Irken food service drone, Zim. Information downloaded from your memory banks shows that you have committed quite a few illegal acts within the past few months."

Zim winced. "I-I know..." he said before thinking 'At least Dib is safe now...' to himself.

Shocked that he had just been slapped, Red grabbed Pur's arm roughly. "Don't hit me! I did this all for you!" he said, as though trying to justify his actions to the other.

"If you really cared about me then you wouldn't be doing this at all!" Purple tried to pull away from Red. "Now stop this! And let him go! His mate needs him! And he needs his mate! You can't do this when they have smeets on the way! It's illegal! Let him go! Let him go! Let him go!" he slapped Red again but this time with less force behind it as he began to break down. "I left his mate all alone back there…Told him he shouldn't come..." his voice shook a bit as he recalled what he had told Dib right before leaving.

"A good decision, Pur. He wouldn't be able to handle this."

"Exile Zim, you are hereby labeled defective and shall be stripped of your PAK."

Zim's eyes widened at those words, and he started breathing rapidly. "WAIT! I can't! Not yet! You must let me make sure Dib is okay!" he pleaded with the Control Brain not to do this, not now when Dib still needed him for so much.

"Illegal hybrids do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Irken Empire. Your mate will be spared, but you must be eliminated." the Control Brain said before binding him tight and tearing his PAK from his back in an instant, leaving a large gash there from not allowing it enough time to unplug properly.

Eyes wide, Zim froze at the swift removal of his PAK before choking a little as blood began spilling out from the corners of his mouth.

"No!" Purple tried to shove Red aside to stop the Control Brain, but the other held him in his place, keeping him where he was. "Zim! ZIM!" his eyes filled with tears, streaming down his face now. "I hate you, Red! And I'll never forgive you for this!" he turned on the other before squirming this way and that in an attempt to break free from him. "You can't do this! YOU CAN'T!" he desperately fought against his fellow co-ruler to pull away but all to no avail.

"I'm not doing anything, Purple. The Control Brain is. I just ordered Zim here to be judged." Red said with very little emotion in his voice as he pulled Purple close to him.

Purple struggled for several moments longer as he broke down completely before finally giving in, no longer able to keep up with all his jerking about. "N-No..." he looked away, his eyes squeezed tightly shut and antennae slicked back as Red pulled his head to his chest and just held him there. That's when they all heard an all too familiar voice being raised from the doorway to the room.

"NO! ZIM!" Dib was leaning against the door frame to the room, panting as he had had a difficult time keeping up with Purple. Back on Earth, Purple had instructed him to stay in the base, but he wouldn't allow himself to and had sneaked away to hide in a compartment just big enough for him to fit in on the ship Purple had brought to Earth. He pushed himself away from the door, stumbled into the room a few feet, and then fell flat on his face.

"Guards! Grab him!" Red ordered, the two guards from before moving in to confine him.

Dib stared up at them terrified. "NO! DON'T TOUCH ME AGAIN!" he pulled away, scooting back away from them. "Just let Zim go! You have no right to be doing this! If you're going to punish someone, then punish me instead! I'M the one who told Zim to change me!" he screamed, just wanting Zim to be let go free already.

"D-Dib?!" Zim looked over when he heard the others voice, not wanting Dib to see him like this.

"Select Disposal Method: Garbage. Furnace." the Control Brain gave the two options.

"Toss him in the garbage. He doesn't deserve the swift death of the furnace."

"No! Leave him alone!" Dib forced himself unstably onto his feet and tried to make a run at Red, just to be blocked by one of the guards. That's when it happened. Having been in too much of a rush to think things through back on Earth, Dib had grabbed the first thing he could find to protect himself with, which just happened to be a knife from the kitchen. He pulled it out when one of the guards from earlier grabbed him, and before the other could even register that he had a weapon on him, he plunged it as deeply as he could into the guard's abdomen, having had enough time when the bastard was raping him to notice a few blind spots in his armor that didn't protect him completely. The guard lurched forward before anyone else could respond, his eyes wide as he suddenly coughed up blood from his mouth.

Red's eyes widened and he stared in shock at what Dib had just done, quickly motioning for the other guard to stand down. "Drop the knife, hybrid." he said, deciding to give Dib a chance to comply before taking any drastic measures against him.

Dib pulled back away from the guard he had just stabbed, his hands and the knife soaked in blood now as the guard went to his knees and then the floor. "Not until you let Zim go!" he screamed back, holding the knife to himself defensively as he shook where he stood.

Red glared at him and then smirked a little. "Alright. You win. Give us the knife, and I'll let him go. Tallest's honor." he said, trying to get Dib to lower his guard for a moment.

"No! Let him go first! I don't trust you! You have no honor! Doing this to him in the first place! You disgust me! Now give him back! Give him back to me and let us leave! We don't want anything to do with you!" Dib screamed at them, frazzled now and his eyes wild. "Give him...Give him to me..." his hands then began to shake unsteadily.

"Dib...J-Just give him the knife..." Zim nodded in Dib's direction, knowing already that if Dib didn't then Red would just kill him on the spot.

"No!" Dib shook his head stubbornly, taking a few steps back as he held the knife even closer to himself, the tears coming now. "I want...I want you to let him go first..." he turned his attention back on Red.

"Dib...Please." Zim coughed a little more, blood spilling out from the inside of his mouth. "Do it for me...Just give them the knife..." he said again, anything to keep the other safe in that moment.

"B-But..." Dib lifted his gaze up to look at Zim before then dropping it back down to gaze upon the Irken he had just stabbed, lying motionless in a puddle of his own blood. Entire body beginning to tremble now as he realized what he had done, Dib dropped the knife. "N-No..." he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "Just let us go home! I want to go home with Zim! You have no right to keep us here!" he began hyperventilating the more upset he became.

Red directed the remaining guard to take the knife away once it had been dropped before grinning cruelly at the hybrid. "Well, I guess I have to let him go then." he gestured to the Control Brain. "Let him go." he then snickered as the Brain let go of Zim and Zim's limp body plummeted into an opening to the garbage bin below before sealing behind itself.

Dib's eyes grew wide. "NO! YOU PROMISED!" he tried to make a run for where he had seen Zim disappear but was merely grabbed by the guard who had retrieved the knife from him.

"N-No...L-Let him go...Please..." Purple was crying into Red's chest by now. "I-It has nothing to do with him...He hasn't done anything wrong...L-Let him see Zim..." he couldn't pull himself away from the other any longer as he clung to Red tightly, shaking as he begged the other not to hurt Dib. "H-He's just a smeet...Y-You can't hurt him..." he pleaded with his co-ruler not to take this any farther than it already had been taken.

"We're not going to hurt him. He's carrying smeets." Red nodded at the guard. "Send him home." he instructed as the guard who had grabbed Dib started taking him away, leaving the two Tallests completely alone now. Red then turned to Purple and grinned. "Sooo...I hear you wanted a smeet?" he said all too suggestively, as though this were the first time it'd ever been mentioned to him.

Purple kept his face hidden in Red's chest until the guard with Dib had left. "It's not fair...They're going to grow up without a father because of you..." he struggled to pull away again. "How could you...How could you suggest such a thing right after what you just did to Zim?! How could I trust you to be a father to smeets after what you just did to another litter of smeets' father?!" he screamed, his face no longer so much angry as it was wracked with grief.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 151. =3 Until next time~ (If I decide to continue this story, that is.)


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